


Start|Stop

by MeticulousMew



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: (which is nothing new), And Lexa is gay, Badly Behaving Adults, F/F, I feel like Clarke would be a happy person if she weren't set in an apocalypse, Marijuana, Octavia hates Anya so hard, Octavia is a moody shit, Raven needs to grow up, So I'm writing her happy, This is just a lot of nonsense, so so so so gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2018-02-17
Packaged: 2018-07-11 12:21:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7050859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeticulousMew/pseuds/MeticulousMew
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arcadia High is a great school. The athletics and arts programs are top notch and well-funded. The overall student GPA is the best in the state and Principal Woods couldn't be taking the helm at a better time. She's starting to think her new job and new life with her son will prove to be the fresh start that they need.</p><p>Then she meets her faculty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

> And so the adventure begins...

“Aden. Are you ready?”

The scrawny fourteen-year-old pops a piece of toast in his mouth and nods as he pulls on his backpack. Lexa gives him a small smile, grabs her bag and takes the car keys off the hook.

“Let’s get going then. Can’t keep ‘em waiting on our first day!”

They climb into the black sedan in their driveway and head out of the small suburban neighborhood. Lexa fiddles with the radio and neither speak as Aden shuffles through his backpack for a few minutes. He looks up.

“Mom. I forgot my cell phone charger.”

_I know, I saw and grabbed it before we left._

“Mm,” Lexa hums.

“Mom. Seriously. What will I do if my phone dies?”

_Make me worry when I can’t get ahold of you._

“You tell me.”

Aden frowns and crosses his arms. “Can we go back? Please?”

Lexa arches a brow and glances over at him. He catches her look and uncrosses his arms, replacing the frown with a neutral expression. She flips on her blinker as she rolls to a stop. She settles on a jazz station.

“No.”

“But I-“

“Aden,” she cuts him off. “How do we avoid unnecessary complications?”

He sighs and looks out the window before rolling his eyes. “By carefully planning our actions from the outset.”

She looks over her shoulder to merge onto the interstate, then glances at him before crossing over to the fast lane. Lexa feels the satisfying roar of the powerful engine as she speeds up. “Who is responsible if your phone dies prematurely today?”

“I am.” He slinks down in the seat and stares out the window at the cars dropping behind them, knowing not to say anything else. Lexa stares at him for a moment, then reaches down into her leather laptop bag next to his feet and pulls out a camo-patterned cord. She holds it out to him and hears the surprised intake of breath when he sees it.

“You get a pass today,” she says as he takes it from her and tucks it into his backpack. “Don’t expect another.” A pause. “I do you no favors by remembering this for you. Life doesn’t give you any breaks, Aden.”

He nods slowly and mumbles “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

After a few moments of silence, Aden asks “Do you think we’ll like it here?”

Lexa purses her lips, then nods and slows so she can change lanes. “I do. The school is nice, I’ve met some of the faculty and the education standards are high. I think we’ll do well here.”

They chat for a while until Lexa turns down a long, brick driveway. They pass under a stone archway that says “Arcadia High School” and pull into the faculty parking lot. Lexa steers the sedan into the space marked “Principal” and turns off the engine. They look at each other.

“Well, this is it, kid. Why don’t you go on ahead and I’ll head in after a few? I wanted to check on a couple things before I go in.” Lexa smiles. Aden reaches over for hug, then gets out of the car.

“Ok. I’ll meet you at your office after school. Love you mom.” She says it back, he closes the door and heads into the building. Lexa puts her bag in her lap and waits for him to get a good head start, then slowly climbs out of the car and slings the bag over her shoulder. She walks up to the big stone building and pauses in front of the large wooden door that leads to the school offices. To her new office. The Principal's office. She stares for a moment, then takes a deep breath, smooths her suit jacket down and reaches out to pull the door open.

“Wait!” A voice calls out. Heals click on the pavement. “Can you hold the door for me too? I’m-“ Lexa turns around just in time to see blond hair flying and a big, open box flipping in her direction. Before she can react, the box hits her in the chest and she’s thrown to the ground, landing hard on her bottom. Shocked, she's then assaulted by the odor of paint. She sits up and looks around. The box, which had contained several foil tubes, is laying to the side it's contents scattered everywhere. And all over everything, wherever Lexa looks, are gobs of oily, pastel yellow goop. She looks down at her now black and yellow suit and huffs angrily.

The blonde who dropped the box is frozen on the ground in front of her in a half-crouched position, a look of horror on her face. Lexa meets her gaze and clears her throat. The other woman quickly rushes to her feet and reaches out her hand to help Lexa up, careful not to step in and slip on the paint that is covering the walk.

“Oh. Oh my. Goodness. Oh my God. I am so-“

Lexa allows herself to be pulled to her feet and her anger quickly dissipates as the woman in front of her sputters and tries to apologize. She takes in the stiletto heels (one now broken), the flower-patterned pencil skirt, the starch white blouse and blue eyes that look close to tears. She resists the urge to give a reassuring squeeze to the hand that helped her up.

_She's ridiculous. And adorable. Ridiculously adorable. Oh my God, Lexa. Speak._

“Accidents happen.”

She drops down to pick up the tubes and begins quickly placing them back in the box. The blond leans down to help.

“I can’t believe this. I’m sorry. I’m so clutzy sometimes. I’ve completely ruined your suit. This is a terrible way to make a first impression. I’m sorry!"

Lexa’s expression is carefully neutral as she picks up the now full box and stands. The blond reaches out to take it from her but Lexa holds it away and backs up.

“Somehow you managed to get away without any paint on your clothes – there’s no reason to mess them up now.” She smiles. Slightly. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Clarke. Griffin. I teach art... um, obviously. Or I’m about to, anyway. I’m new.” Her face is flushed red and she runs her hand down it, apparently not realizing that the paint had gotten on her hands and she now has streaks across her face.

Lexa only nods and says “Well, Ms. Griffin the Art Teacher, let’s get this inside, shall we? Maybe we can find someone to help us clean up the sidewalk.” She pauses. “And maybe to post a wet paint sign, too.” She wipes her foot on the ground before turning to the building. Clarke picks up Lexa’s mercifully paint-free bag and opens the door for her, careful to give her a wide berth. Once they are both inside, they pause, both looking to the other and neither sure where to go.

“I’m… new too,” Lexa admits. “Do you know where Maintenance is?” Clarke shakes her head and looks down the hall. “Why don’t we ask at the main office? I’m sure someone can direct us.”

They start walking and Clarke lets out an agonized breath and turns to Lexa.“Well, we’re off to a good start then. What a way for the two newbies to make a first impression, huh?”

She gives Lexa yet another apologetic look as they round the corner and step into a busy hallway. They draw several sets of eyes as they walk and Clarke’s face is still so red. Lexa absently wonders if the shade is more cherry or tomato red. _Tomato, probably. Cherries are kinda purply, I think. But there are bright red ones too, right? Hmm. I'll have to Google that later._  The streaks of pastel yellow on her forehead and cheeks make the red stand out even more and Lexa finds herself suppressing the desire to laugh outright. Sure, she’s not thrilled about showing up on her first day covered in paint, but Clarke’s mortification is evidently far more significant than her own and Lexa can't help but feel bad for her.

She keeps her head high and straightens her back, making it a point to look unaffected.

_Note to self: Keep a change of clothes in my office in case of accidental spills._

Suddenly she does laugh out loud, startling Clarke beside her, who gives her a pained look.

Chuckling, she smiles at Clarke and suddenly her throat feels a little tight. To her own surprise, she finds herself explaining the reason for her laugh.

“I… my son. This morning I scolded him for not being prepared.” She looks down at her suit and smiles back up at Clarke. “I guess I’ll have to admit to him that there are some things you just can’t prepare for.” She chuckles again and muses “He’s going to get a kick out of seeing me like this.”

Clarke shakes her head. “I guess there’s really no way to know that someone will throw paint all over you as soon as you get to work. I’m so-“

“-Sorry. I know, I believe you.” Lexa smiles again, gently. “There is no reason to beat yourself up. Things happen. All we can do is move forward and fix them.”

They reach the crowded office and Lexa immediately drops the smile from her face. They walk in, Lexa carefully maneuvering through the doorway so as not to get paint on the walls. The sharp intake of breath from the woman behind the desk is audible. The whole office goes quiet. Lexa wracks her brain for a name.

_Becky. That's it._

She’s a heavyset woman in her mid-forties, with bleach blond hair and too much makeup. Lexa recalls she was very friendly, if a bit... busy. Becky scoots around the desk, then pauses in front of them, clearly unsure of what to do.

“Principal Woods! What happened?!”

She feels rather than hears the gasp that slides out of Clarke’s throat. She had thought it was impossible for the art teacher to look any more embarrassed than she already had. She was wrong.

Lexa frowns.

“Becky. Could you could call maintenance and ask them to send someone to put up a warning sign and clean up the entrance from the faculty lot? There’s… a lot of paint on the ground outside.”

The students in the lobby plaster themselves to the wall, cell phones out to record, and give Lexa a wide berth as she walks through with the paint, careful not to get it on anyone. She sets it on a counter in the corner of the room and turns to Clarke with a polite smile.

“It’s good to officially meet you, Ms. Griffin. I think we have a meeting in my office in about an hour. Why don’t you-"

She looks down and freezes mid-sentence when she realizes that Clarke has no shoes on. She's holding her heels (well, one heel and now one flat) in the other. Barefoot, covered in face paint and burning with embarrassment, Clarke is bravely holding herself together, but just barely. Lexa had intended on telling her to get cleaned up before the meeting, but instead finishes with -

“-follow me into my office and we can start a little early.”

She gives her a reassuring look and leads her down the hall and into her new office.

Lexa turns around and quirks an eyebrow. "Becky? Maintenance?"

The room explodes with chatter as Becky nods and reaches for the phone.

_What a way to make an entrance._

\------------

Lexa ushers Clarke into her office and closes the door behind them. She pulls off her paint-spattered blazer and is relieved to find nothing on her silky green tank.

“These are oil paints, right?” She asks. Clarke nods and Lexa sighs. “I thought so.”

She folds the blazer inward so that the paint doesn’t touch anything and places it on a shelf. She ensures there’s no paint on her backside, then sits behind her desk and pulls out some tissues to dab at the front of her pants.

“Have a seat, Ms. Griffin.”

Clarke sits, still not having said a word since discovering that Lexa was the new principal. Lexa stops dabbing at her clothes and focuses her full attention on Clarke. Her blue eyes are moist and slightly red around the sides, but there are no tears on her face. Lexa sighs and looks away. 

_Redirect, Lexa, or she'll start leaking._

“So... are you going to be short on supplies today?”

Clarke flushes ( _again_ ) and looks up. “Uh... no. It was just the yellow that burst. I can wipe off the rest of the tubes and still use them. It wasn’t for today anyway. I wasn’t going to do oils for a few weeks.”

Lexa nods. “Good. Well, obviously I’m also new, but I had wanted to bid you welcome and say that I’m glad we have you this year. I read through your paperwork this morning. It’s nice to put a face to your name. The Exchange program that you’re participating is a really great initiative, and I am looking forward to seeing what comes of it.” She pauses, gauging Clarke as she rises to her feet.

“I just wish you had better taste in colors, Ms Griffin. Pastel yellow really isn’t... ME.” She winks as she gestures to her pants.

Clarke’s eyebrows shoot up and she lets out a surprised laugh.

“Well, it’s not my best work,” she manages to say. “...But I’ll try to stick with a darker palette next time I splash paint on you.” They both smile.

_Ice? Shattered. Success._

Clarke covers her face with her hands again and Lexa can’t help the small laugh that escapes her throat.

“God. Of all people, of course it had to be the principal. I’m _so_ sorry about your suit. I'll pay to have it cleaned, I swear. I'm sorry!" she groans.

Lexa nods. “I may take you up on that. Hopefully it's salvageable.”

She walks around to lean on her desk next to Clarke. She leans forward and makes a show of peering at Clarke’s face.

“You ah, have some paint here.” She waves her hand to indicate all of Clarke’s face, then grabs her bag and pulls out a small package of disposable makeup wipes. She points to the wall and says calmly. “There’s a mirror, there, if you want to see?”

Clarke sighs and walks to the mirror with the wipes. Lexa’s phone chirps and she sits back down in her chair and picks it up.

**Aden (7:47):** OMG mom. What happened to you?

**Aden (7:48):** I don’t even know anyone yet and you’re already the only thing people are talking about. Everyone in the school already has this picture.

**Aden (7:48):** <img>

Lexa doesn’t even realize she’s groaning out loud until Clarke looks over, only half the paint removed from her face.

“What’s wrong?”

Lexa expands the picture and pushes her phone across the desk toward Clarke, who walks over with a brow raised. She leans down to look and once again flushes a deep crimson. The picture was clearly caught by someone sitting right across from Lexa, who is facing the camera after having just set down the box. She’s covered in paint, holding her arms out and looking down at her suit as if she is bewildered by the mess. Clarke is standing just behind her with her hand in her hair, red-faced, looking like she’s letting out a breath of frustration.

It’s a perfectly-timed shot and after a second, both of them are laughing at how comical it is. Lexa switches her phone to silent and tucks it into her desk drawer. Clarke sits down too and lets out a breath, makeup wipe forgotten on the desk below the mirror.

“We’re a mess,” she sighs.

“I know.”

“Maybe everyone will forget about this by tomorrow.”

“Probably not.” Lexa smirks.

“No, probably not.”

“Listen, I'll get sorted here. Why don’t you go ahead and get situated and we can have a check-in later this week, okay?”

Clarke gets to her feet and walks to the door, where she stops and looks back at Lexa.

“Thank you for being so cool about this. I’m sorry about your suit.” Then she slips out the door before Lexa can respond, closing it with a soft click behind her.

\-------------

Several hours later, Lexa is buried in paperwork when a quiet rap sounds at the door.

“Enter.”

Becky pokes her head into the room and smiles. “Good Morning, Le- Principal Woods.”

Lexa's eyebrows shoot up. “Good Morning, Becky.”

She waits expectantly. Becky hesitates, then walks the rest of the way into the room. “I just wanted to make sure you were adjusting alright and... check to see if you needed anything?” The end of her sentence goes up to form a question. Lexa shakes her head, but takes advantage of the interruption to stand and stretch, exposing her paint-smeared pants.

Becky looks surprised “Oh! Principal Woods! I’d forgotten about the paint incident!”

_No you didn’t._

“We have the student-body assembly this afternoon… Do you have anything to change into?”

_Obviously not or I’d be wearing it._

“No. It will be fine.” Lexa sighs and takes her seat again, picking up her pen. Something is irritating about this woman, though she can’t quite put her finger on it. She gives her a tight smile and waits.

“Okay,” Becky says mildly. “Can I get you anything? Coffee maybe?”

Lexa perks up, realizing that she hasn’t had any yet today.

_Ok Becky. Maybe you have some good qualities._

“That would be nice, yes.”

“What would you like me to put in it?”

_Sugar and_ “Cream. Just a little.”

Becky nods and disappears, returning shortly with a steaming cup. Lexa nods her thanks as she takes the coffee, wraps both hands around the mug and breathes in the aroma.

“I'll come get you for the assembly later, L-Principal Woods.” Becky waits just a tick for a response, before sighing and leaving, shutting the door behind her.

Lexa grins behind her coffee cup and settles back down to her work.

\-------------

"Time to go, Principal Woods!" Becky's voice rings down the hall.

Lexa gets up and collects her blazer from the cupboard. _Might as well go big_.

She slips it around her shoulders and it fits snugly, as it was designed to do. By her tailor. She sighs. This suit will be an expensive loss if they can’t get it clean. She buttons it and, taking a deep breath, strides out of her office. Becky meets her outside the office and smiles sympathetically as she gives her a once over.

_I_ _f you say “Oh Honey” I’m going to-_

“Well, at least it’s a pretty color, Principal Woods!" She says brightly. "It could have been worse, right?”

_Gag me._ Tight smile in Becky’s general direction.

Lexa follows Becky through the halls and hears the assembly already underway. They pause at the doorway and Lexa looks into the auditorium where the Vice Principal, Thelonious Jaha, is speaking. This is the first time she’s ever seen him and she’s certain that’s by his design. She notes Clarke Griffin sitting on the stage behind him, twiddling with something in her hands, looking very bored. _I wonder how long this assembly has been going. Is she falling asleep? Oh my God, does she still have paint on her face?? It's been like seven hours!_

Becky interrupts her thoughts with a whisper. “He applied to be principal, you know. He held the interim job for half of last year and was very upset when they hired from outside the district."

Lexa turns to her with a slight frown, which Becky visibly reacts to. She adds "Don't get me wrong. He’s a nice guy, but he can be a little rigid at times.”

Lexa’s face is impassive and she nods, turning her attention to Jaha.

“Mrs. Lexa Woods was the principal at Ferris High School for five years, the Vice Principal for four and has been teaching for all of her adult life. We are honored to have her join the Faculty and look forward to her leadership in this coming year. Students, please give a round of applause for your new Principal: Lexa Woods!”

Lexa strides across the gym in her (formerly) black suit, waving to the students with a smile. She looks out at the student body as she steps onto the platform. Jaha shakes her hand and makes a sweeping gesture to the podium. Lexa turns to the students, steps up to the mic and raises her hand to indicate her request for silence.

“Good Afternoon, everyone. Thank you for that warm welcome. I'm so excited to be here at Arcadia High! I look forward to getting to know every one of you. Now, I know it can be tough to get back into the swing of things at the beginning of the school year and first days are always a little exciting.” She pauses, then decides to deviate a bit from her original speech.

“This morning, for instance, I ran into our new art teacher, Miss Clarke Griffin, in the Faculty Parking Lot.”

A small gasp behind her confirms that Clarke is both awake _and_ paying attention.

She pauses. “Literally.” She gets a few laughs.

She turns to Clarke and locks onto her blue eyes. With a grin, she says into the microphone, “Thank you for adding a little color to my wardrobe, Miss Griffin.”

Clarke, now composed, smiles back and waves. “Anytime!”

Everyone laughs again and Lexa goes on to other matters, discussing expectations for the school year and cracking a few more jokes in an attempt to keep everyone engaged. Finally she passes the microphone off to someone else and goes to take a seat on the stage. She crosses her legs and settles her hands on her knee throughout the remainder of the assembly. Clarke is introduced as a new teacher and is asked to say a few words. She walks up to the microphone and for the first time, Lexa notices the athletic shoes on her feet. She can’t help but smile at the incongruity.

_Oh. She still has paint in her hair. And down the side of her face._

“Good Afternoon, everyone. I’m really excited to be here at Arcadia High!"

“I just wanted to thank Principal Woods for allowing me to paint her this morning. I really wanted an opportunity to show you all the kind of mad skills I’ll be passing onto those of you who will be taking my class this year.”

Several students cheer and Clarke presses on.

“So as many of you may know, I am here because I am participating in the Arts Exchange Program that’s being implemented this year by the district. Arcadia's art teacher, Mr. Lincoln Gray, is getting all settled at my school, Genesis High, and will be teaching my students there this year. I’m excited to get to know you guys. The Arts are really important and I know we’ll have a good time together. Um - About me - I’ve been creating art my whole life and I’ve taught it for the last 12 years, both in schools and in community arts programs. If you have questions or are curious about the arts program here at Arcadia, please feel free to talk to me any time. Thank you!” She waves and heads back to her seat. Lexa’s eyes follow her all the way.

\---------------

“I’m Aden. I'm here to see the Principal?” Lexa hears Aden’s voice through her open door but can’t make out the reply. When he doesn’t come in, she walks out to the lobby to find him.

“Aden.”

Becky is on the phone and smiles vaguely in their direction. Aden stands up and grins at Lexa.

“Hey Mom, you’re already popular!” Lexa smiles warmly at him and puts a bare arm around his shoulder as she leads him back to her office.

“Hey! Don’t get any paint on me!” He takes an exaggerated step to the side, trying to avoid brushing their pants together.

Lexa laughs and gives his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “How was it today?”

Aden shrugs and smiles. “It’s cool. I like it so far. I mean, nothing’s ever great initially, but it doesn’t suck, right? So I’m happy.”

“Tell me about your classes.”

She settles back down at her desk and runs through a few files as her little chatterbox barely takes a breath in his excitement.

“Well, let’s see. I started out in English Lit with Ms. Indra. She’s super stern but she seriously knows her stuff. Plus she kicked this jerk out of class today because he wouldn’t shut up. And I swear, mom, I don’t think anyone’s going to give her grief after that. It was crazy cool.” Lexa laughs and Aden plows on.

“Then I went to World History with Mr. Blake. He’s cool, but also firm. In fact, just about everyone was. Well except for Miss Griffin. I mean, she was firm too but she’s legit, you know what I mean? Mr. Blake was cool though, I like him a lot. Anyways after History I went to P.E. with Ms. Blake but she wants us to call her Octavia. I guess she’s Mr. Blake’s sister. We all thought they were married so it was kinda funny when someone said that and she was like ‘Ew. No.’ and everyone laughed. Cause I mean, he’s cool, but it was funny.” He fidgeted and leaned forward, his speech quick and excited.

“Then after lunch I had Art with Miss Griffin. She’s, like, really cool. She had paint in her hair still and everyone was laughing but she was funny about it, not mean or embarrassed or weird. You know, Mom, like that whole ‘Roll with the Punches’ thing you always say. Anyway by the time I was in fourth period, literally _everyone_ had seen that picture of you and Miss Griffin and everyone thought it was hilarious. We all messed with her the whole time about it and it was really funny.”

He leans back. “Mom. Do you remember…” he stops and looks over at Lexa.

_Costia._

“Do you remember when you and me and Mom went to New Orleans? And how Mom was so crazy about the Jazz history and made us go to like, every museum and every music place and we had to stop and listen to practically every single musician on a street corner, then how like she went back to studying jazz when we got back and would make up songs to play on the saxophone every night until she… until she didn’t?” He trails off, visibly swallowing the emotion welling up in his throat. Lexa nods, a pained expression quickly disappearing from her face. He clears his throat and continues.

“Well, Miss Griffin, she’s into painting _that_ much. It's just different, when she talks about it. Like most teachers are like 'Yeah ok let's learn this and go home' but it's like... like she's excited to talk about it because it's cool, not just cause she has to teach it. Do you know what I mean? I just reminds me of how Mom loved her saxophone and stuff. She showed us her portfolio. It's really cool. I want to paint like her.”

Lexa gives him a gentle smile. She loves that he's thinking at a deeper level. She has such a good kid. “I’ll have to stop by her classroom and take a look.”

Aden jumps up suddenly. “Let’s go now! She might still be here. Come on!” he strides out of the room without waiting for a response. Lexa hollers after him.

“Aden! Aden wait! Not right now. Aden!” But he’s already outside the office. She sighs and looks down at her desk. “Fine.” She mumbles. “It’s time to go anyway.”

She powers down her computer, slips into her jacket and grabs her leather bag. By the time she's ready, Aden comes back into the office.

“What’s taking you so long? Hurry up or we might miss her.”

They don’t miss her.

Aden leads her down several passageways and up a flight of stairs to the art room, which is in a very large loft-like area on the top floor in the corner of the building. The windows are big and bright and fill the room with afternoon light and Lexa feels almost transformed when she walks into the quiet room. She expects to see canvases and easels and paints and things all over, but the easels are piled neatly in a corner and there are stools and couches and chairs all circling a single canvas set up on a single easel.

Lexa casts about until her eyes settle on Clarke, who is staring absently at the sunset and tapping a hand on the window frame.

“Careful. Your eyes will go bad if you make a habit of staring at the sun.” Lexa chides.

Clarke gives a little jump and turns around. “Principal Woods!” Her eyes find Aden. “Aden? Is everything okay?” She approaches them with a smile.

Aden laughs. “Hi Miss Griffin! This is my mom, Lexa. I was telling her about your class and how awesome it was and then she wanted you to show her your portfolio -”

_What? I did?_ Lexa feels a slight blush creeping up her neck at the awkwardness of his phrasing. She wills it down and smiles stiffly at Clarke.

“ -so I told her I’d bring her because you’d probably still be here and you’re really nice and would probably love to show her. Can you show her?”

Clarke looks at Lexa, who is pointedly looking _away_ , and pats her arm. “Not satisfied with what you saw of my work this morning, huh Principal Woods?” Lexa brings her green eyes to Clarke’s blue and opens her mouth to speak when Aden cuts her off.

“Oh my god. You’re an adult. You should call her Lexa. It’s just weird for you not to.”

“Oh should I? How do you feel about that, Principal Woods?” Clarke’s eyes are twinkling and she’s smiling broadly at Lexa.

“Ah. Well.” Lexa pauses and swallows. She looks from Aden’s oblivious face to Clarke’s laughing one and finally cracks a smile. Rolling her eyes, she chuckles out “I guess it’d be _weird_ for you not to.”

Clarke’s laugh fades and she looks at Lexa through narrowed eyes, gauging her. After a second, she says “Okay. Come on, _Lexa_. Let me show you my portfolio.”

She takes Lexa and Aden each by the hand and leads them over to a desk in the corner. She pulls out a book and lays it across the desk, turning it toward them. They flip through it together and Lexa is  _impressed_.

_Woah._

Much of her work is of nature – trees, flowers, landscapes – and mostly from unusual perspectives. A close up of the under side of a flower petal, a tree angled from the trunk, so it looks like you’re standing under it, a bush from the inside looking out. There are pictures of people too, but they are also unusual. There is always particular detail on the eyes, and the expression is never just a smiling face. They have pain or pride or anger or satisfaction, fear, joy, suspicion. Lexa runs her hand along one of the faces.

“Clarke I’ve – I mean, Miss Griffin – I’ve never seen anyone capture emotions like this before. Your style is... moving. I don’t even know if I have the words to express but it just... it makes me _feel_. You’re amazing.”

_You’re?_

“Your work. It’s like you can see into the soul of things. I’m... I don’t know how else to put it.”

_Smooth, Lexa._

She looks up at Clarke, who is wearing a shy expression. Aden sneezes from across the room, where he's texting on his phone.

_When did he wander off?_

Clarke jumps and flounders to find her voice.

“Um, Clarke. It’s Clarke.” She nods. “I mean, you can call me Clarke. My name. My… first name…” she trails off and Lexa sees a flush crawling up her neck.

“Of course. Clarke.”

They fall quiet, staring at each other.

“Hey Miss Griffin?” Aden calls out from across the room, breaking through the tension. “When are we actually going to get to paint something in class?” Clarke straightens and walks over to Aden with a smile. He’s standing at the canvas in the center of the room and as Lexa draws close, she realizes there are some light pencil marks on it but no paint yet. Clarke bumps his shoulder with hers and smiles.

“How about tomorrow?”

\---------------

They bid Clarke farewell and walk back to the faculty parking lot. As they approach the door, Lexa remembers a file she’d wanted to take home.

“Here, Aden, take the keys. I have to swing by my office to grab something real quick. I’ll just be a couple minutes.”

Aden walks to the car as Lexa heads back inside. She makes her way through the empty lobby and toward her office, pausing when she notices that the light is on and the door is cracked.

_I definitely did NOT leave it that way_.

She listens for a moment and hears a slow tapping sound from inside. Frowning, she shoves the door open and startles the dark haired woman sitting in her chair, bouncing a stress ball on her computer monitor.

“Who are you?” She grits. The woman drops the ball and puts her hand to chest.

“Woah, calm the frick down. You just gave me a goddamn heart attack, lady!” The woman looks as angry as Lexa and they stare at each other for a tense moment before Lexa raises her eyebrows expectantly.

“I’m Jack... Jordan,” The woman blurts. “The janitor.”

Lexa’s eyes graze over the red leather jacket she’s wearing and notes the lack of cleaning supplies.

_Sure you are._

“Ok... _Jack Jordan_. Perhaps you would like to vacate my chair.” It wasn’t a question.

Jack huffs. “Yeah, whatever. Sorry. I was uh, cleaning and, um, whatever. I have to go anyway.” She pushes the chair back and gets to her feet. She takes a step around the desk and limps past Lexa, favoring her right leg.

Lexa watches the woman as she makes her way out of the school office and disappears down the hall.

_Bizarre._

She looks through her stuff to make sure nothing’s missing, grabs the file she came for and exits the office, careful to lock it this time.

What a strange day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is Jack Jordan? Why was she in Lexa's office? Will Lexa ever let Becky call her by her first name? Will Clarke Griffin ever speak a fully coherent sentence?
> 
> Tune in next time to see if any of those questions are answered!
> 
>  
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always welcome. Seriously. Peace! ✌️


	2. Jack Jordan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little dicy for one of Arcadia's faculty.

**Octavia 5:40 AM:** Where are you  
**Octavia 6:01 AM:** Hey  
**Octavia 6:01 AM:** omg seriously  
**Octavia 6:02 AM:** are you still in bed.  
**Octavia 6:05 AM:** Ok I’m getting worried  
**Octavia 6:05 AM:** Are you alive?  
**Octavia 6:10 AM:** the faculty meeting is about to start. You’re going to get in trouble if you’re not here

**6:11 AM:** I can’t come to the meeting  
**6:12 AM:** Cover for me I’ll explain later

**Octavia 6:12 AM:** jfc dummy you CAN’T miss the first meeting with her **  
Octavia 6:13 AM:** seriously it’s going to look so bad

**6:13 AM:** I already met her

**Octavia 6:13 AM:**???

**6:13 AM:** jesus O  
**6:14 AM:** I was in her office on the first day and she caught me sitting at her desk

**Octavia 6:14 AM:** wtf

**6:15 AM:** I told her I was the Janitor. I said my name was Jack Jordan.

**Octavia 6:16 AM:** Why tf did you say that??! I just told them u had a flat tire btw

**6:16 AM:** I panicked. I didn’t want her to know what I was actually doing in there

**Octavia 6:16 AM:** WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN THERE

**6:17 AM:** gotta run, AAA is here to fix my flat. Byeeee

**Octavia 6:17 AM:** omg Raven  
**Octavia 6:17 AM:** you are ridiculous  
**Octavia 6:18 AM:** how long do you think you can avoid her finding out you’re the physics teacher  
**Octavia 6:18 AM:** lol are you going to start cleaning her office now every night  
**Octavia 6:19 AM** : your pic is on several walls of this building  
**Octavia 6:19 AM:** and your outlook icon  
**Octavia 6:21 AM:** this is actually hilarious. You’re so dumb  
**Octavia 6:28 AM:** Principal seems a little rigid. You’re gonna have to be creative to get out of this one

**6:30 AM:** I’ll think of something

* * *

 

“Ugggghhhhhhh.” Raven throws her phone down onto her desk and runs her hands through her hair, pulling several strands loose from her ponytail. “How does this shit happen to me?”

Her phone buzzes again. She glances down, then pushes it away forcefully after reading the message. “Eff you Jaha. Get out of my life.”

Twenty minutes later, Octavia throws open the classroom door and strolls in, arms crossed. Raven is in her chair, feet propped up on her desk, going over student work.

“Okay, what the hell _was_ that this morning? Explain yourself, Reyes. Now.”

Raven’s eyebrows shoot up but before she can say anything, a gravelly voice calls out from the doorway.

“Excuse me, guys?”

Raven leans to peer around Octavia. Her eyes narrow as she realizes who is walking into her classroom.

_What the hell._

“Principal Woods asked me to…” Clarke trails off when she sees Raven.

Octavia backs up and looks between both of them, immediately picking up on the tension.

“Raven. I didn’t know you worked here.” Her jaw works itself closed.

_What the FUCK._

Raven hesitates for a split second, then puts her hands behind her head and leans back further in her chair, cracking a grin that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “ _Princess_. How nice to see you again. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Several different emotions flit across Clarke's face before she grits her teeth and stares hard at Raven.

“I’m collecting the AR Reports from yesterday. Is yours ready?”

“Oh, well, by all means, _Princess_ , yes. I’ll print you a copy. Anything else you’d like to take from me while you’re here? No need to check with me first, of course.” The smile leaves her face and Octavia takes a step back as Raven levels a vicious glare at the woman across the room. Clarke’s face is tinged red with anger and her fists clench at her sides. The not-quite-smile returns to her face and Raven throws her hands behind her head, leaning back in her chair again. A little too far, this time.

_Shit._

She swings her arms wildly in an attempt to regain her balance but it’s too late. The chair topples backward, her legs fly over her head and she lands with her arms and legs sprawled awkwardly. Her face is hot when she flips around and looks back at the other two, fire in her eyes. Octavia looks mildly concerned but hasn’t moved. She knows better. Clarke’s expression, however, has transformed to distress and she is halfway across the room. She pauses when she sees Raven’s face and takes a step back.

“Are you o-”

“I’m _fine!_ ” Raven bites out. “Don’t the two of you have classes to teach?”

The sympathy melts off of Clarke’s face and she nods. “Just email the report.” She turns to O.

“See you around, Octavia.”

The other woman nods to Clarke as she leaves. She brings her eyes back to Raven. “You have so much explaining to do.”

She shakes her head at Raven’s glare and leaves the room.

_Fuck._

\-----------------

The sound of the bell rings loud in her classroom and students start putting away their things.

Raven bangs her feet hard against the front of the desk she’s sitting on and raises her voice. “First test is next Friday. I’ll post a study guide online tonight. You little turds better spend some time on it, because this shiz is gonna be _hard_.”

She tilts her head to the side and watches as the students file out of the room. A big burly teen throws a wadded-up paper toward the garbage and turns around to grab his bag. The paper misses the can and sticks on the book shelf next to it.

“Hey! What’s your name, Gavin? Garret? Yo. Dude.” She waves her hands in the air until he looks up at her.

“Uh, what?”

“ _Uh_ , you dropped your garbage in my classroom, that’s what. You need to work on your aim, huh?” She points to the paper and sweeps her hand toward the trashcan. “The garbage is that way.”

His face flushes. “It’s Eric. And you don’t have to be so rude. I’ll get it.”

Raven scrunches up her face and bobs her head from side to side as she repeats his words in her head. _You don’t have to be so rude._

“Toughen up big guy. You need thicker skin.”

“Seriously Ms. Reyes, it was an accident. I would have picked it up if I’d seen it.” He grabs the paper from the shelf and tosses it forcefully into the garbage.

 

Raven watches him storm out and is not entirely surprised when she gets an email from Becky later that day.

 

* * *

 

_Raven,_

_The new principal wants to speak with you as soon as you’re free. I told her your next free period is in 20 minutes so she’s going to come to your classroom._

_Saw Eric Schultz come in and ask to speak with her directly. What did you do, Birdy?_

**_Becky Martin_ **  
Administrative Assistant  
Arcadia High School  
Highline School District  
Office: 425-444-4444  
Fax: 425-444-4448  
_~~ Don’t forget to have a Beatiful Day! ~~_

 

* * *

 

Raven sighs. _Oh Becky, you sweet thing._

Raven finishes out the rest of the period, repeating the same warning about the test that she’d given each class that day, and sits down on the edge of her desk to await Principal Woods’ arrival. As soon as the bell rings, the door cracks open and Lexa Woods strides through with a polite smile on her face.

The new principal is nothing if not punctual.

Raven hops down from her desk and limps toward her, hand extended. A single eyebrow shoots up as Lexa reaches out her hand to clasp Raven’s, firmly.

“Hello, _Jack._ I was wondering where I might find _Raven Reyes._ Who is _not_ a janitor. Maybe you can help me out.” 

_Wow, girlfriend is a master of the straight face._

Raven frowns and purses her lips. “Jack? Hmm, sorry, no Jack here. But good news, you've found Raven Reyes! Congratulations! I’m so pleased to meet you. For the first time.” Raven slinks around her desk and takes a seat, crossing her arms.

“What can I do for you, Principal Lexa Woods?”

She watches Lexa’s impassive face as she comes around the side of Raven’s desk and leans on it next to her, folding her arms slowly across her chest. She cuts a powerful figure in her slacks and collared shirt, dark hair swept up and pinned behind her head, and Raven wheels her chair back ever so slightly.

“I’m here to talk to you about a complaint.” She levels green eyes on Raven, who tries not to squirm a under their gaze.

_Aww, cutting to the chase already? You’re no fun, Lexy._

Raven sniffs and picks at an imaginary piece of lint on her shoulder.

“A student has advised that you were unkind and embarrassed him. There are always multiple sides to a story, I know. You have an impeccable record, Ms. Reyes. Is this something I need to look into or can I trust that you are trying to provide a safe environment for our kids?” Lexa’s voice is quiet. Raven searches her eyes for a moment, looking for something she can lock onto. Condescension, disrespect, arrogance maybe. She doesn’t sense it.

_Damn, reign it in Reyes._

Raven feels the wind go out of her sails and she pushes out a breath as she deflates. “Yeah.”

Lexa nods. “Thank you. Let's not be in a position to have this conversation again.” She starts to turn, then stops. “Also, I’d like to give you my phone number so that if you skip faculty meetings in future, you can give me a heads up instead of asking a friend to relay your message. Sometimes they don’t _quite_ get it right.” She picks up Raven’s pen and a sticky note pad and starts writing.

_No she didn’t…_

“What are you talking about?! I had a flat tire this morning.”

Lexa inclines her head to the side and hands the sticky note to Raven.

“Raven, you arrived at 5:30 this morning. The security cameras picked up your Jeep when you pulled in. I thought it’d be wise to start reviewing them periodically after I found a suspicious character in my office last week.” She walks out the door and leans back to look Raven in the eye. “You can’t be too careful.”

Raven’s jaw drops as Lexa disappears.

_I think I like you._

 ---------------

"I do appreciate a generous pour, my friend." Raven wiggles her eyebrows and taps the wineglass. Octavia rolls her eyes and pours more wine, then settles back into the sofa, tucking her feet under her legs. Raven, sprawled out on the couch with her legs splayed, takes the wine from Octavia's hand and gulps a quarter of it at once. She makes a face and smacks her lips. "This is giving me cottonmouth."

Octavia frowns. "Okay, Reyes. Time to spill. Way too much shit happened today and you're starting with the weird little conversation you had with the art teacher. You know, before you fell on your ass and embarrassed yourself all to hell."

"Oh fuck her. I don't want to talk about that bitch."

"Well you're going to. I thought she was cool and the students can't seem to get enough of her. So... what's the history there?"

Raven takes another swallow and sighs. "Remember about five years ago when Finn and I took a break?"

Octavia frowns. "Yeah. Didn't he cheat or something? You never gave me the whole story."

Raven rolls her eyes. "Yeah, well, I didn't want you to hate him when we got back together."

"Too late for that," Octavia mutters.

"Well. Anyway. It was during that teaching stint I did in Morocco for six months. Finn broke it off after a few weeks after I left, said it wasn't working."

Raven takes another big swallow.

"He fucking fell 'in love' with her." The air quotes she tried to make brought her dangerously close to spilling her wine.

Octavia's mouth forms a perfect "O" and Raven smirks. "I'm not even sure how they met, actually. He never talks about it. Didn't then, doesn't now. But when I came back, I went over to talk to him about his stupid ass breakup and he wasn't home. I let myself in, had some lingerie on and waited in his bedroom. When he came in, he-" her voice cracks, slightly. She swallows.

"-he was pulling her shirt off when they pushed through the doorway to the bedroom. They... they were... I don't know, O. It was all gooey and disgusting."

"What happened when he saw you?"

"He didn't, actually. _She_  did. She screamed and demanded to know who I was. I said I was his goddamn girlfriend and she'd better get the fuck out of the house."

"...and??"

"She did... actually. She got all quiet, put her clothes back together and left. Finn kept grabbing at her, calling her fucking 'Princess' and pleading with her not to leave, totally ignoring me. He followed her out the _fucking_ door, Octavia. That fucker. Fucking, fuck. Fucker." She swallows the rest of her wine and holds the glass absently at her side, her eyes slightly glazed. It's her fourth glass.

"I never saw her again. I don't think he did either, actually. I straightened his ass out and here we are, five years later, planning our wedding."

She glances up at Octavia, who is looking at her with a droll expression.

"He's the only one who's ever loved me, O. And I love him too. We're not perfect, but we're... happy. Relatively."

"Yeah, sounds like you've made your peace about it." Octavia rolls her eyes. "One glance at Clarke and you looked like you were ready to fight. Actually - she looked like she wanted to kill you, too. Why was  _she_ mad if she was the other woman??"

Raven shrugs her shoulders and raises her hands. "Fuck if I know. I don't care"

Octavia sways as she reaches to refill her glass, but the bottle is empty. 

"Well, wait. You said you guys had broken up three months earlier, Raven. He was single."

 

"He was confused."

"Uh... He was  _single_ , Raven. So he was dating. And he brings over his girlfriend to find his ex. In his bed. Naked. It _sounds_ like you kinda ruined  _their_ relationship."

_No._

"Um, you're supposed to be on my side here."

"Raven I'm only going to take your side if you're not being a fucking moron. What did Clarke  _actually_ do to you? Like, seriously. Maybe she fucked Finn but... damn girl. It was already over between you two."

"She's a skank that-" 

"No, Raven. She was dating a single guy and walked in to find his naked ex in his bedroom."

"You already said that."

Octavia reaches out and smacks Raven upside the head. Hard.

"BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING IT, DUMBASS."

_You don't need to make sense right now._

"No, Octavia."

"Raven."

"No."

"Raven."

"NO."

"Ok seriously-"

"Shut the FUCK up already okay?" Raven explodes. "It has to be her goddamn fault, Octavia. It HAS to be. Because if it's not, that means that the last five fucking years that I've given him are on ME, okay?! That means I'm forcing him into something he..." She clenches a fist and wipes angrily at her face. "Something he doesn't want. I can't do that, okay? I'm not that. I can't be that girl. I'm not... fuck. I'm not  _her_."

Octavia is leaning in, not quite touching Raven, but close to her face. Her tone is softer. "Not who, Raven? Clarke?"

Raven tosses her wineglass on the floor, watching the remaining red drops spill out onto something Octavia left on the floor. 

" _No_.  _That_ girl. That fucking girl that is thirty fucking five and hasn't figured anything out. That marries someone she doesn't... doesn't love and... and just  _exists_. Goddamnit." She wipes at her face again. 

"I was supposed to be more than this, Octavia. I was supposed to be on the fucking _ISS_  right now. I was supposed to be changing the fucking world, or at least looking down on it from a million miles away, sending space videos to my kid and - but it's all fucked up now. My leg, my family, my fucking life. I... Finn is the only good thing I have left in this whole stupid life and I can't even get _that_ right." 

Octavia puts a hand on Raven's knee and blinks hard. 

"Raven. You have me too," She whispers.

Raven looks at the ground, miserably, and half leans, half falls onto a surprised Octavia's shoulder. They've never talked like this before. They've never discussed this part of Raven.

_It's all so fucked._

With uncharacteristic gentleness, Octavia wraps her arms around Raven and holds her while wet, silent tears soak into her shirt.

\--------------

Raven wakes with a start. She's sprawled on Octavia's bed, sheets and pillows everywhere. She looks around for Octavia but doesn't see her amid the layers of discarded clothing stacked on every surface.. 

"Octavia! O! Where are you?"

"Kitchen."

"Your bedroom is a fucking pigsty."

"YOU'RE a fucking pigsty."

"Fuck you."

"I have coffee."

"Fuck you still." Pause. "But please pour me some."

Raven shuffles out of the room, tripping over everything in her stupor and cursing when she falls on her bad leg. 

"Goddamnit O. Clean your nasty house."

"Leave my nasty house."

Raven pulls herself onto a bar stool and stares down into the black coffee that Octavia sets in front of her. "Is this cup even clean?"

"Fuck off."

Raven gives a half-smirk and takes a long gulp, yelping as it burns her tongue and throat.

"This is fucking hot. And bitter. Give me some sugar. My mouth tastes like ass."

"Bring a toothbrush next time. And I don't keep sugar in my house."

"What, couldn't find a spot for it?"

"Bite me."

Silence settles between them and Octavia comes to sit in the chair next to Raven. She's clad in neon exercise clothing and looks like she's already been out for a jog. There's a soft sheen of sweat at her hairline and her high ponytail looks a little windblown. Raven looks down at her own clothing. She's wearing her jeans and undershirt from the day before. Her shirt is god only knows where in this apartment, but her boots, mercifully, are by the front door.

_Oh well. Not the first time I've had to wear the same clothes to work._

"So," Octavia begins.

"So." 

"What are you going to do?"

Raven sighs deeply and puts her head on the counter. "I don't know. I need to think."

"You can stay here if you need to."

"Yuck."

"I'm giving you an extra key. Use it whenever." She slides a key across the counter and gets up.

"I have to get ready. You can borrow one of my shirts if you want. I'm gonna hop in the shower."

Raven grunts and takes another drink of coffee.

Octavia heads toward the bathroom.

"Oh! And don't forget. You didn't tell me about the rest of the shit that went down yesterday. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook."

"Go get ready for work, Blake." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Octavia ever clean her goddamn house? Why does Becky call Raven "Birdy?" Did Lexa figure out who Jack Jordan was? And what was that text from Jaha?
> 
> Stay tuned...
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for the love, guys. More to come. Peace! ✌️


	3. Commander

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The art teacher makes a stir.

The sun is just peeking over the horizon as Clarke pulls her car into the faculty parking lot and shifts into park. She tucks her keys into her purse and glances at her watch.

_Seven minutes… that should get me to the end of the chapter. Yes!_

She pulls a book out of her center console and flips it open to the page she’d creased earlier, settling back in her seat to read.

A few pages in, a knock sounds on her window. Her hands fly up and her book falls to the floor as she looks out her window. Lexa is standing just outside, lips twitching with a suppressed smile.

Clarke tries to roll down her window but the engine is off. She looks around frantically for the keys. “What did I…” She looks back at Lexa, who is now standing back and looking amused.

Lexa tilts her head to the side and smiles as she points to the door handle. Flushing, Clarke reaches out to pull on the door handle. Her hand slips off and the handle pops back; it’s locked.

_Oh my GOD, Clarke. What is wrong with you?_

She takes a breath and lets it out, refusing to meet the laughing eyes on the other side of the window. Calmly, she presses the unlock button and pulls the door handle.

“Good Morning, Miss Griffin.” Lexa’s voice is tinged with laughter as she leans casually against the open door and crosses her arms. Clarke feels the flush spreading further up her neck. “I’m sorry for interrupting your book. You looked so enthralled, I had to stop and ask what you were reading.”

Clarke smiles and sits awkwardly in her car, staring up at Lexa.

After a few seconds of silence, Lexa raises her eyebrows, still smiling. “Clarke?”

_Clarke._

“Ahh... a book.”

Lexa purses her lips and nods seriously. “I see. And is it good? Your book?”

“Yes. No. I… it’s…” Clarke shakes her head and reaches down to pick up the novel, holding the cover away from Lexa. “Don’t laugh? It’s a trashy romance novel that I picked up the other day.” She swallows and looks back at Lexa with a shy smile. “It’s dumb.”

Lexa’s face is solemn and she nods. “Mm, I see. Perhaps we should have a chat about your choices in reading material as an educator, Miss Griffin.”

Clarke’s heart skips. Her eyes go wide and her mouth pops open in surprise. “Oh, uh, seriously?”

Lexa’s smile lights up her face. “No, Clarke. I’m teasing you.”

Clarke visibly relaxes and reaches out to smack Lexa’s leg. “You’re terrible. Quit messing with me.” Lexa stiffens at the touch and she stands up straight, though she’s still smiling.

“I’m going to head inside but don’t forget, your first in-class evaluation is today. I’m going to pop in at some point with my clipboard.” She winks. “I hope you plan to be on your best behavior.”

_Oh shit._

“Also, your keys are just… there.” A long, slender finger points to where a pink, gem-studded keychain is sticking out of Clarke’s purse. She winks again before heading into the building.

Clarke groans and grabs her things. She locks her car and heads inside, flustered. On the way to the art room, she runs into Octavia.

“Hey Clarke, morning. How are you?” Octavia looks fresh and alert, as is usual for her in the morning.

“Good, you?”

“Fine. Looking forward to your evaluation today?”

“I’m nervous, honestly. At Genesis I never knew in advance when it was happening. Lexa’s schedule gave me time to think about it and now I’m a little stressed.” She smiles and hoists her purse higher on her shoulder.

“Yeah? I’m sure it’ll be fine. I had mine last week and she was actually pretty good. I’m kind of surprised at how detailed she was – the woman notices everything - but she gave good feedback.”

“Oh my god! That makes it worse!” Clarke laughs.

Octavia smiles back at her. “You probably don’t have anything to worry about. The kids love you, Clarke. I actually hear them talk about you in my class. You’re quite popular.”

Clarke shifts uncomfortably. “Oh…That’s funny.”

“Yeah. Well hey, listen,” Octavia shifts and leans on her other foot. “It’s probably time you get to know everyone outside of working hours, Clarke. Several of us are getting together on Friday night at my brother’s house. You have to come. It’s mandatory. He’s going to fire up the barbecue one more time before putting it away for the year. There will be drinks, good people and good food.” She looks at Clarke expectantly.

“I…” Clarke hesitates. Nobody’s mentioned the incident from a few weeks ago but Clarke has studiously avoided Raven as much as possible.

Octavia seems to read her mind. “I don’t think… Raven will be there. She was going to some work thing with her fiancé,” she says quietly, then brightens. “Anyway, it will be a good time. Give me your number and I’ll text you his address. Just head over after work.”

She pulls a cell phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and waits expectantly.

“Ah, okay, sure.” Clarke rambles off her number and hears a chime from inside her purse.

“That’s me. Save my number.” She looks up at Clarke and smiles. “I need to run – catch you later!”

“Okay, see ya!”

\-----------------

Sitting at her desk at the end of second period, Clarke’s knee is bouncing with nerves. The bell rings and students begin to shuffle out of her class. Once the room is mostly empty, Clarke looks up to find Aden standing in front of her desk.

“Hey Miss Griffin!”

“Hi Aden! What’s up, sweetie? And what are you doing here? Aren’t you here in fourth period?”

“Yep! I just had English Lit on the other end of the hallway so I thought I’d stop by. My mom told me she’s going to come to your third period class today. I was hoping to catch her but, I have to run Can you give this to her?” He reaches out to hand Clarke a heavy wood-grain pen. A tree with visible roots is stamped into the top and it’s inlaid with what looks like gold. Expensive.

“It’s her favorite pen. She doesn't usually forget it.”

Clarke tucks the pen into her shirt pocket and smiles reassuringly. “I’ll make sure she gets it when she comes in. Thank you Aden.”

“See you this afternoon, Ms. Griffin!”

“See ya!”

Clarke smiles. _Third period, huh? I think I have an idea… Thank you, Aden._

\-------------------

Stools are arranged in a semicircle with canvases in front of each when the students start to filter in for third period, and she directs them all to take a seat. There is one stool in front of the rest, in the corner where the windows come together. Next to it is a large canvas set on an easel and a small table with different pieces of charcoal.

Lexa comes in shortly after the bell rings and Clarke is ready for her.

“Principal Woods! come on in!” Clarke’s smile is wide and a little mischievous.

Lexa pauses and looks up at Clarke, a wary expression on her face. “Hello, Miss Griffin. Please, don’t mind me, I’m-”

“Oh don’t be silly, you’re right on time.” Chatter has died down and the students are looking at them expectantly as Clarke reaches Lexa and gestures to the front of the room. Lexa’s eyes stray to the front of Clarke’s shirt and narrow slightly when she sees the pen in her pocket.

“I was hoping you would volunteer to help me with my lesson today.”

Lexa, surprised, looks up and opens her mouth to respond, but Clarke cuts her off.

“And don’t worry, you can still do your evaluation. What do you say?”

Lexa hesitates and looks out at the faces of the students. She swallows and stands up straighter, plastering a smile on her face. “I would be happy to help, Miss Griffin. What can I do?”

Clarke grins and points to the lone stool by the window. "Please take a seat there.”

Lexa strides to the front of the class and sits down, bunching her long legs together on the same rung and balancing her clipboard on her lap. She looks at out at the students and waits expectantly, pen poised and ready to write. Clarke stands next to the large canvas and turns to the class.

"In front of you is a canvas and several pieces of charcoal. Today we're going to draw Principal Woods."

The students think this is hilarious and everyone quickly gets set up and ready.

Clarke turns to Lexa, who is looking down at her clipboard, writing attentively.

Her stomach flops and she refocuses on her students as she moves toward the canvas.

She spends the first part of class walking them through various techniques and pointing out various things to notice when drawing a person. Finally, she indicates that everyone should begin.

"It doesn't have to be perfect and you're not going to get a bad grade if your drawing looks more like an ogre than the principal-" laughter "-I just want you guys to get a feel for the charcoal and understand what it's like to put something on canvas. We have 20 minutes, let's get to it!"

Clarke’s hand moves fast and she makes several sweeping strokes. She doesn’t have to look at Lexa again as she fills in details and narrates her actions to the class, offering guidance where there are questions.

The warning bell rings. 

Clarke smiles gently as she makes a few finishing strokes, finally bringing her eyes back to meet Lexa’s. The Principal’s brows are drawn up with curiosity. Her clipboard is held loosely in her hand, clearly forgotten, and she looks up at Clarke expectantly.

Clarke stands back and asks everyone to reveal their work. 

Predictably, 20 students have created 20 different pictures of the same thing, and few are even remotely similar to Lexa. The Principal's laughter rings across the room as she takes in the faces. 

"I didn't think you meant ogre as a suggestion, Ms. Griffin," she teases, pointing to one canvas that was actually a rather good likeness of her face, but replete with a Shrek body punching Lord Farquad.

"That's impressive! Good stuff, guys!"

"Alright, you can pack up and get ready to leave. Please put your name at the bottom of your canvas and leave them here, I'll clean up the room."

The noise level in the classroom shot up as students began putting picking up their bags and joking about each other's drawings.

 

\--------

 

Lexa turns to look at Clarke, but her eyes fall on the large canvas behind her.

“Clarke,” she breathes.

In the image, Lexa’s hair is straight, flipped back with a few strands billowing on the side. Her head is tilted slightly down, eyes looking up, lips drawn together. Her expression is piercing, firm, almost regal. She looks powerful. Commanding.

Clarke is staring at Lexa, trying to read her reaction, when she notices a vague ringing in her ears.

The bell.

The room empties quickly and Clarke and Lexa are left alone together. 

"You are... wow. You make me look like a badass."

Clarke chuckles shyly and bites her lip. 

"I just drew what I saw. You  _are_ a badass."

 

Lexa doesn't know how to respond, but is saved when the door bangs open and students start filing into the room. She steps back and shuffles her clipboard.

"Thanks for the lesson, Ms. Griffin."

"Thanks for your help, sorry if I threw off the eval, I thought this would be fun."

Lexa smiles. “It was. Don’t apologize.”

She smiles at Clarke, nods to the rest of the class and makes a beeline for the door.

_I'm so fucked._

\--------------------

Clarke grins at Becky as she stands back to admire their handiwork. 

"She's going to hate it." Becky warns.

"Don't be a pessimist."

"I'm just saying - that woman is stone-cold. She's going to take one look at this wall and fire all of us."

Clarke laughs at Becky and pats her shoulder. "Nonsense, the Principal's just a big softy."

Becky's eyebrows shoot into her hairline and she opens her mouth to object before thinking better of it. Clarke doesn't notice as Becky's eyes narrow and she looks Clarke up and down, thoughtfully.

"I think the sign is a nice touch, don't you?" Clarke runs a hand on the hand-drawn label below the largest portrait. 

 

COMMANDER

 

"Do you think the gold lettering is too much?" she asks Becky, glancing over at her.

"Yes." Becky grumps.

"Good," Clarke laughs.

 

Several hours later, she is eating lunch at her desk when several sharp raps sound on her classroom door and it is pushed open. Raven walks in, a neutral expression on her face.

“Hey.” She calls out.

Clarke frowns, immediately on guard.

“Hey… Raven… what’s up?”

“Oh, you know. Stuff.” She walks toward Clarke and pulls a stool up to sit in front of her desk. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you. About stuff. Um, do you have a few?”

Clarke nods slowly. “Sure… what’s on your mind?” She sets her sandwich down and tucks her hands awkwardly below her legs.

“Finn, actually. Remember him?”

_oh god._

Clarke clears her throat and shifts uncomfortably, folding her hands in front of her on the desk. “What about Finn?”

Raven reaches up to place a hand on the back of her neck. She squints uncomfortably at Clarke. “Did you… what happened, that time? I mean, did you know about me, or…?”

Clarke sighs.

“Yes and no.” Clarke’s voice is quiet. “I… Finn and I met under weird circumstances. We’d kind of dated, sort of on and off, for a couple of months. He’d mentioned he had an ex in North Africa.” She sighs. “I didn’t think anything about it and honestly, Raven, I mean he and I didn’t… talk… a lot." Raven makes a face and Clarke continues. "We connected but… something was off and I knew it. Anyway it all went out the window that day we ran into each other in his apartment. I was younger. I was mad because I knew he hadn’t been honest with me. But, ultimately, I knew even then, before you walked back into his life, that it wasn’t going to work out.”

Raven quirks a brow. “Why’s that?”

“I... we didn’t want the same things. We had different… values. I think you can only build so far with someone when your values are in opposition with one another.”

Raven nods slowly and spins around in the stool, saying nothing for a moment.

“Well.” She says finally, stopping and staring at Clarke again.

“Sorry for biting your head off the other day. I’ve been a little tense lately. Not your problem, so. My bad.”

Clarke nods, “Sure… it’s understandable. It was quite a shock to run into each other the other day.”

“You’re telling me." Pause. "So… settling in?”

_Okay… this is weird._

“Umm, yeah. All set up. I like Arcadia.”

“Yeah, me too. Heard about your... mural, thing. How did THAT come about?”

Clarke flushes. “Oh, uh, well, she came in to do an evaluation so I… I thought I’d incorporate her into the lesson.”

“Cool.”

Raven’s phone rings and she pulls it out of her pocket as she spins her chair again and Clarke catches an image of Jaha flashing on her screen. Raven ignores the call and switches the phone to silent before tucking her phone away.

“Well, I’d better run. Good talk, Griffin.” She slides down the stool and makes her way to the door. “See you around.”

“See you,” Clarke calls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up with Raven? And Jaha? And will Clarke remember to give Lexa back her pen?
> 
> Stay Tuned!
> 
>  
> 
> The idea for Clarke’s drawing was inspired by this image: http://meticulousmew.tumblr.com/post/145337757709/i-found-this-picture-on-pinterest-and-now-im-dead 
> 
> Peace! ✌️


	4. Here for the Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party Time!

\------------------------------------------------

“Aden! Get the door!” Lexa hollers from her bedroom. She looks at her outfit in the mirror and frowns, then pulls off her shirt and walks back over to her closet. She puts it back on a hanger and looks through her options for the fourth time. She knows Anya isn’t going to be happy with anything in her closet.

The door to her bedroom opens and Anya strides in, looking decidedly _Fall_. Lexa takes in her knee-length boots, tight jeans andfluffy cable-knit sweater, sighing heavily.

“Anya.”

“Why aren’t you dressed? We’re already late.”

“I don’t want to go.” Lexa sits on the edge of the bed, adjusting a bra strap and allowing a plaintive look to cross her features.

Anya rolls her eyes and sighs. She goes over to Lexa’s closet and digs around, coming back with a pair of tight jeans and a navy, long-sleeved polo.

“You’re not wearing slacks to a barbecue, Lexa. Put these on.”

Lexa frowns but does as she told and Anya disappears into her closet again. She returns with a pair of knee-length boots and sets them next to Lexa's bare feet. After Lexa is dressed, Anya steers her to the vanity and sits her down, hands deftly pinning her hair back. Lexa is pliant as Anya turns her head and tugs her hair a little too hard.

“I won’t know anyone, Anya. _You_ don’t even know anyone.”

Anya speaks around the bobby pin between her lips. “Not true. I know Murphy.”

“Well they’re Murphy’s friends. You haven’t met any of them. This is going to be uncomfortable.” Lexa’s jaw is set in a hard line and she’s frowning unhappily.

Anya turns Lexa around to look at her, then arranges her hair in front and runs her fingers through Lexa’s tresses. She squats down so that she and Lexa are eye-level.

“You look good. And Lex, it’s been too long since you’ve put yourself out there. Murphy says this is a good group of people, a lot of them are single and some of them are even in education, like you.”

Lexa looks away, a slight flush running up her neck. Anya reaches out and steers her face back so that green eyes are looking into hers again. Lexa frowns. “I'm not ready to date anyone, Anya. Aden and I are good. I’m busy enough with work as it is – I don’t have enough time to devote to another person. And I don’t have time for this barbecue. I have three evaluations to review and type up.”

Anya gives Lexa an unsympathetic smile. “You’re not going to work on a Friday night, god. Anyway,” she snaps. “Who said anything about a relationship? You could use a little fun. You’re so wound up lately - you need to find a cute girl and have some fun.” She stands and stifles a yawn, holding her hand out to Lexa. “Let’s head out. We’re already really late.”

"Even when I was single in my 20's I wasn't into hookup culture, Anya." Lexa scowls but accepts the hand up and picks up a brown blazer before they head downstairs. Aden is on the couch in the living room, texting someone and half-watching TV.

“Aden.”

He looks up and smiles at Lexa. “Aunt Anya said you guys would be home late. I’ll keep my phone close for when you check on me.”

She nods her approval as she puts on her blazer and he stands to give her a hug. She wraps him in her arms, knowing that he will do his homework, he will eat the dinner she left for him in the fridge and if he has any idea to get into teenage mischief, he will regulate himself. She knows he’s a good kid, so she murmurs no parental warnings and does not caution him against obvious dangers.

“I love you. I’ll talk to you in a few hours.” She kisses his forehead and lets him go to hug Anya. She puts her wallet in her back pocket and stuffs her hands in the front of her jeans as she waits for Anya by the door.

Anya messes up Aden’s hair and winks at him as she walks toward Lexa. “Bye kid.”

\---------------------

Clarke sets her purse down on the kitchen table and strips off her heels, dropping them to the floor as she makes her way to the bathroom of her small apartment. She looks in the mirror and frowns. Her eyeliner is smudged and her mascara is flaking on her cheeks. With a sigh, she pulls out her makeup bag and touches up her look. She checks her watch. Five thirty. She’s supposed to be at Bellamy’s at six. She lets her hair down and runs her hands through it to straighten a few snarls, then goes into her bedroom to change. She trips over the hamper that she’d set in front of her bedroom door this morning in a half-hearted attempt to remind herself to do laundry.

“Why do I do this!?” she mutters in frustration.

Cursing, she shoves it to the side and it skids to a halt at the foot of her bed, knocking down the comforter that was already hanging precariously at the foot of the mattress. Clarke strips off her skirt and blouse and throws them lazily toward the hamper. She walks over to her overflowing closet and pauses to scan through the options.

“Let’s see… it rained earlier… it’s probably going to be cold and it’s a barbecue so we’re going to be outside…” She mumbles to herself as she taps her mouth with a finger.

She selects a pair of skinny jeans and slips them on, then tries on a few different shirts. She settles on a pastel yellow V-neck tee, chuckling as Lexa pops into her mind. She wonders briefly if anyone invited the principal to the party. _No, probably not. That’d be weird._

\------------------

Raven toys with the hem of her black cocktail dress and checks the time on her phone again. 5:41.

“Where are you?” She groans to the empty room.

As if in answer to her question, the front door opens and Finn walks in. He hangs his keys and walks into the living room where Raven is poised on the couch, waiting impatiently. She locks eyes with him and stiffens. Something’s wrong.

“Why are you so late, babe?”

\-------------------

“Bell! Come get the burgers!” Octavia yells. She leans through the kitchen window and lowers a meat-laden tray to her brother in the yard below. He heads toward the grill and she threads through the house to the front door, which someone just knocked on.

“Clarke! Hey, come in!” Octavia gives her a once-over. This version of Clarke is casual sexy – her clothes hug every curve and her hair is loose. She looks very…

_Damn Blake, chill._

Octavia smiles and gives Clarke a small hug as she ushers her inside. She shows her around Bellamy’s split-level home Several people have already arrived and Octavia watches Clarke smile and greet everyone with an easy grace. She leaves her in the living room, immersed in conversation with Indra and Marcus (who are discussing their evaluations from Thursday) and heads back into the kitchen. She pulls her phone out when she feels it buzz and stops with a groan as she reads the message.

 **Ray (6:07 PM):** I’m on my way to Bell’s. Bringing herb for the party

 **(6:08 PM):** I thought you were going to a work thing with Finn

Octavia sighs and looks back to where Clarke is laughing, hand smacking Marcus playfully on the shoulder as he entertains her and Indra. She lets out a breath.

_Why are you doing this to me, Raven?_

Her phone buzzes again before she can say anything else.

 **Ray (6:09 PM):** Finn and I just broke up.  
**Ray (6:09 PM):** Prolly gonna take you up on your offer to stay for a while  
**Ray (6:10 PM):** hope you were serious **  
Ray (6:10 PM):** I don’t want to talk about it tho. Let’s have fun we can deal with it tomorrow ok

Octavia’s eyes widen at the bomb Raven just dropped. Did she read that right? She lets her gaze pour over the words a few more times, just to be sure. Her hand and the phone drop limply to her side and her pulse picks up speed, her mind racing. She’s secretly been hoping this would happen – for ages – and though she doesn’t want to see Raven hurting, feels incredibly relieved. She’s never liked Finn, less so since the painful conversation she and Raven had a couple weeks back. It’s not like Finn is a bad person, it’s just that he isn’t right for Raven. Raven is amazing and she deserves better. Much better.

Octavia runs a hand through her long brown hair and lets out a breath as she slides down the counter and sits on the floor, twirling her phone in her hands. She can’t help but feel a rush from her head to her toes as Raven’s face appears in her mind.

_Finally._

\------------------

Raven pulls into Bellamy’s neighborhood and has to park a ways away, as apparently the party is already in full swing and cars are lined up all down the block. She grabs the bag of weed and sticks it inside her leather jacket, then hops down carefully. She hadn’t bothered to change out of her dress and she’s wearing low heals. She doesn’t do it often and with her prosthetic leg, she has to walk carefully. She can hear music and laughter coming from the back yard as she approaches the house. She pauses and pulls out her phone.

 **(6:31 PM):** Come outside?

Octavia appears at the front door a few seconds later and walks quickly over to Raven. Without saying anything, she lifts up each of the other girl’s legs in turn and unstraps her heels.

“You’re a little overdressed for a barbecue, Ray. Let’s get inside.” She holds Raven’s shoes in one hand and slides her other arm around Raven. They’ve been friends since college. They don't need to talk about the fact that while Raven doesn't need the help, sometimes it's nice to have a friend to lean on.

Raven leans into Octavia and allows herself to be led into the house.

“So, Clarke is here.” She says quietly. “Are you gonna-“

"It's cool." Raven sighs. “I don’t… I mean, you might have been right about her. It’s not a big deal. Whatever. But no scenes, I promise.” She gives Octavia a placating smile that turns real when she sees the look on the other girl’s face.

“Don’t look so relieved. Anyway, take me to my people. I’m going to get lit tonight. And by lit, I mean so stoned that I eat four burgers and a whole bag of chips by myself and forget about everything and every _one_.”

Octavia smirks and shakes her head. Raven waggles her finger at her more responsible friend. “No mom-ing me tonight. And no Finn,” she reminds her quietly. “I don’t even want to think about him until tomorrow, ok?”

“I get you, Ray. No Finn.”

“Good! Now lets have some fun!”

She pushes off from Octavia when she reaches a circle of chairs near the firepit and takes in the faces of her coworkers - Marcus and Indra are sitting in folding chairs next to each other. Monty, Jasper and Harper are sharing a makeshift bench and Clarke is holding a stick out to the fire, a very burnt marshmallow about to fall of the end.

Raven holds up the bag. “Who's in?”

Clarke raises her eyebrows in surprise as everyone else nods excitedly.

“It’s… a medicinal party… Clarke. I hope you’re cool.”

Clarke just smiles and shrugs. “I’m an artist, Raven. We are _super_ cool.”

Raven cracks a grin and shakes off her jacket as she plops down into a folding chair.

“Great! Who brought a pipe? I forgot to grab mine.”

Everyone shrugs and looks at each other, no one volunteering.

Marcus rubs his neck. “I didn’t realize we'd need one tonight. Does Bell…?”

Octavia, standing next to Raven, shakes her head. “Nah, he doesn’t smoke anymore. Echo found his stash and tossed it… she threatened to break up with him if he didn't quit. He’s so whipped.” She smirks.

Jasper frowns. “She’s not… coming, is she?”

Octavia shakes her head. “Nah, she’s in Chicago this week. We’re good.”

Monty grins. “Octavia, do you know if Bell has apples?”

Octavia frowns. “Yeah, there’s some in the kitchen. Why?”

“I think I can solve our pipe problem.” He wiggles his eyebrows and tags Jasper on the shoulder. They get up and disappear inside the house.

“Aren’t you worried about… getting drug tested?” Clarke asks, wary.

Indra gives Clarke a small smile (which is about as relaxed as the woman gets) “No, Thelonious is cool about it.”

Clarke frowns, but nods. “Okay,” she sighs.

"Check it out!" Monty hollers, approaching from across the yard. He tosses an apple in Raven's direction. She snags it easily and laughs when she sees that they’ve created a makeshift pipe out of the fruit. She loads it up and passes it around, apple juice dripping down their chins as they take turns. The pipe makes its way to Clarke and she hesitates before accepting the fruit and taking several long drags. She’s still holding the last one when, out of the corner of her eye, Raven spots what looks like their new principal walking out onto the patio. She smacks Clarke and points at Lexa. Promptly, Clarke chokes.

_Shit._

\------------------

Anya parks her Land Rover behind Murphy’s sports car and Lexa frowns. There are a lot of cars here already. Murphy gets out of his car and walks around to greet Anya and her sister.

“Ladies!” He holds out an arm to each of them. Anya takes one, but Lexa just gives him a tight smile and gestures for them to go ahead of her. She’s irritated. John Murphy is arrogant and his voice grates on her nerves. Lawyers tend to aggravate her in general, her sister being no exception. She sighs and looks at the house ahead of them. She can already smell marijuana in the air and the sound of grungy rock music reaches her ears. It has to be driving the neighbors crazy.

Lexa notes a jeep that looks an awful lot like Raven’s. She frowns. She starts scanning the other cars and sucks in a breath when she recognizes Clarke’s blue Volkswagen.

_Shit. Shit shit shit._

She turns to grab Anya but her and Murphy are already several paces ahead, walking up the driveway. The front door is open and someone is waving to them to come in. Lexa closes her eyes and takes in a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly. It’s too late and she already knows that this is going to be very, very awkward. She quickens her pace to catch up with the other two, following them through the front door. She quickly scans the living room and relaxes slightly when she doesn’t recognize anyone.

_Could it just be a coincidence?_

She takes in the masculine décor – deep grays and blacks are everywhere. To her horror, there is a mounted animal head on the wall. Did people seriously still do that? 

Murphy, clearly ignoring her body language, puts a hand on the small of Lexa’s back to usher her ahead of him and through the house.

"After you, beautiful."

Lexa tenses and shoots him a glare. He drops his hand, but remains within her personal space as the three of them make their way onto the patio. The smell of marijuana assaults her even more heavily and she blinks, brushing a sleeve across her nose.

_Wow._

She hears coughing and laughter.

“Put it away, put it away!” someone whispers loudly.

She knows that voice.

_For the love of God._

She doesn’t turn around. She doesn’t want to see it. Plausible deniability, right?

"Murph!" Bellamy calls out as he walks toward them. He's clad in a tacky "Kiss the Cook" apron and holding bbq tongs as he wraps Murphy in a one-armed hug. "Who are these-"

He trails off when he sees Lexa standing behind Murphy. 

"Uh, Principal Woods. Hi." Bellamy's eyes look panicked.

Lexa smiles tightly. "Mr. Blake, hello. Sorry to crash your party - I didn't realize it was your house that my sister was dragging me to or I would have-"

"Don't be silly! It's great to have you." He recovers. "Do you like burgers?"

“Commander, s'that you?”

Raven.

Lexa swallows and feels her teeth grind tightly together of their own accord. The voice draws closer. So does the smell. She turns around.

“Ms. Reyes, hello.”

\----------------

Anya loops her arm through her sister’s, smiling at the woman in front of her. She’s beautiful, barefoot and dressed in a lowcut black dress. She's also clearly very inebriated.

“Who’s your friend, Lexa?” She purrs.

Raven’s eyes are unfocused but they turn to Anya and she immediately recognizes the mischief in them.

“Well, Principal Lexa’s friend, I am Ms. Reyes,” she giggles, reaching out a hand to Anya. Not as if she’s going to shake it, but as if she should kiss it. Anya is caught off guard but recovers quickly. She inclines her head and takes Raven’s hand, pressing her lips to the fingers in her own. The woman’s eyes flash with something and she appears to completely forget about Lexa.

“Would you like a drink? I can get you…” she pauses, teetering a little. Anya lets go of Lexa and reaches out to stabilize the woman. “You should call me Raven though, not Ms. Reyes. What’s your name?” Anya looks over at Lexa, but her sister is distracted by the people coming up behind Raven.

The woman in her hands leans heavily into her, not waiting for her answer. “Let’s get you a drink, come on.” Raven smirks. “I know the bartender.” She points to herself and winks.

\-----------------

Clarke feels two inches tall as she leans against the house and sinks down, trying to stay out of sight of the woman she never expected to see here. The pot is hitting her hard and the ground wobbles under her feet. She sets her bottom on it and stretches her legs out in front of her.

_Regulation, Griffin. JESUS._

Of course the first time she smokes since college would be the time that her new boss, that _Lexa_ shows up. That the person she most wants to impress is walking toward her as her new friends scatter out of her path. She isn’t looking at Lexa, but she knows she’s coming. She always knows when Lexa is near. It’s like she’s attuned to her frequency. Or something. She sees her frequently. There is frequent seeing. She sees things. She shakes her head. What was she thinking about? Shit this stuff is strong.

A pair of brown boots appear in front of Clarke. They look so smooth and shiny. What does shiny feel like? She reaches out a hand and runs her index finger along the side of the shoe. It feels really good. She starts to put her whole hand on the shoe, but long legs squat down and Lexa’s face appears in front of hers. It looks guarded and maybe a little worried. What did she do to make her look like that? She remembers.

“Shit. Lexa.” She looks up into green eyes and a thousand years go by. Or three seconds; Clarke isn’t sure. “Sit with me.” She invites, patting the wet ground next to her. Several different expressions flit across Lexa’s face, but they’re too fast and she can’t decipher any of them. Finally, Lexa looks back toward the party, then back at Clarke before settling down on the ground next to her, legs stretched out next to Clarke’s. Clarke smiles and scoots closer, bumping her leg up against the long one beside her. She lays her head on Lexa’s shoulder. It’s stiff.

“Hey. Your shoulder is hard.” She tugs on it until it lowers and softens. She sets her cheek on it. “You smell really good, Lexa. Like, really good. Like candy. But… not. You smell like rustic or something. Is that the right word? Not rusty. Just rustic. Like a hunting lodge. Or an old Tobacco pipe.” She giggles. “I don’t know if that’s right, but whatever it is you smell like, I just want to smell it for a minute.” She lifts up her head and looks at Lexa’s face. She doesn’t understand the expression in those green eyes.

“Are you upset about something? I just thought you were, but I can’t remember. I’m having a hard time concentrating right now, for some reason.”

Lexa’s eyes look down at her. They are hard at first, but they soften and a gentle smile tugs at her mouth. She reaches out a hand to brush some hair out of Clarke’s face, which Clarke immediately nuzzles. Lexa’s jaw works until finally a real grin breaks across her features. Lexa speaks, and Clarke hums at the gravelly sound of her low voice.

“I’m trying to be, but you’re making it really hard, Clarke.”

Her gaze is unfocused and she breaks eye contact. She should be worried, she knows she should, but she can’t remember why. And it’s hard to be when Lexa is there because she feels warm and protected. She tugs at the hand in her hair and wraps Lexa’s whole arm around her as she leans onto her shoulder. God, Lexa smells sooo good.

\-----------------

Octavia frowns into her cup as she tries to ignore the conversation next to her. Raven and the Anya chick are sitting together on an Adirondack chair – or rather, Anya is sitting in the chair and Raven is draped across her lap, having fallen when she tried to lean on it earlier. Their conversation is suggestive and filled with innuendoes and Raven looks a little too comfortable in Anya’s lap. And Anya looks stupid. She has a dumb sweater and dumb cheekbones and dumb hands that are wrapped a little too tightly around her dumb friend.

Octavia turns to Indra, who is sitting on the other side of her. Whenever Indra smokes, she giggles. Ugh. Octavia’s drops her head in her hands. The weed was pretty strong, but she has a fairly high tolerance. She gets up and heads back inside the house to find someone to talk to, but pauses when she glimpses the kitchen counters. All of the burgers and fixings are set up and there is so much food. And it smells so good.

A few minutes later Octavia is sitting on the floor with a burger in her hand and another on the plate at her feet when she becomes aware of a commotion across the hallway from the kitchen door. There is a bathroom at the end of the hall and two figures stumble inside. She knows that bare foot. She looks up as the door closes, just in time to see Raven’s hand tangled in brown hair and her lips wrapping around Anya’s.

Nobody sees the burger fall with a splat onto the kitchen floor.

\------------------

Lexa takes a deep breath and sighs uncomfortably as Clarke latches onto her more tightly and falls silent. It's been an hour and Clarke has been rambling about nonsense for a while. “Clarke.”

“Hmm?” She hums. Lexa shudders when she feels the vibration of Clarke’s voice against her skin.

“How do you plan to get home tonight?”

“Lexy. You ask good questions. Teachers like that." Then a yawn. "I'm so tired” She gives Lexa another goofy smile before nuzzling back down and into her neck. Lexa's breath catches in her throat when idle fingers graze up and down her leg.

_Fuck._

She blinks hard and sits back, swallowing and brushing hair out of her face. Gently, she pulls Clarke back and leans her against the house into a sitting position.

“I'm going to head out. Would you like me to take you home?” 

Clarke smiles up at her. "Would you?! I need my bed!"

Lexa helps Clarke to her feet and looks around, then makes a beeline for greasy, slick hair (inebriated blonde in tow).

“Murphy. Where’s my sister?”

He looks up at her and smirks. “Your sister found herself a little… distraction. I don’t think you want to find her right now.”

Anger rises up in Lexa. The girl next to her giggles but she ignores her.

“Tell her to call me when you see her again. I’m going to take someone home and I’ll need her to come pick me up. Got it?”

Murphy nods. “Sure thing, beautiful.”

Lexa’s hackles rise and she takes a step toward him, but Clarke was leaning on her and she hears a little yelp as the blonde goes crashing to the ground.e

_For the love of GOD._

Forgetting the asshole in front of her, Lexa turns to Clarke, who is just laying sprawled in the grass, and hauls her to her feet.

“Murphy, don’t forget.” She calls as she helps Clarke through the house.

“Where are your keys, Clarke? Did you bring anything with you?”

Clarke smiles broadly at Lexa. “Yep! I have a purse. A p…ink purse.” She gets tongue-tied with all the “P”s and starts repeating the words until she gets them right. Lexa positions Clarke near the stairs and tells her to stay put. She starts searching through the house, looking for a pink purse. In the kitchen she steps in something squishy and looks down to see a burger, ketchup all over her boot.

“Ugh. Yuck."

She grabs a paper towel from the dispenser on the counter and wipes it off as she hops out of the kitchen, tossing the towel in the garbage on the way out. There it is. A small pink purse is sitting on a table in the hall. Several people are lined up outside the bathroom door and a considerable amount of noise is coming from the other side of it, but Lexa is too done to care. She grabs the purse and heads back to find Clarke, mercifully, where she left her.

She holds up the purse to Clarke, who reaches for it.

“Hey! There it is!”

“Can you get your keys out for me, please?”

“What will you give me for them?” She bats her eyelashes. Or that's what Lexa thinks she's trying to do - it's just several slow, heavy blinks.

“Please give me the keys, Clarke, so we can go.” She whispers.

"You're no fun, Lexy," she complains. But she digs around in the bag until she finds keys and hands them to Lexa.

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does everyone always sit on the ground? Will Murphy remember to give Anya the message? Will Lexa get Clarke home safely?
> 
> Stay tuned! ✌️


	5. Killer Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After party fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! The next update may be a while too. I apparently shouldn't promise dates, as my schedule is all over :) 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy, let me know what you think!

“What kind of pizza do you like?” Clarke mumbles as she swipes through an app on her phone. Lexa glances over at her, then back at the road. They've been driving for a little while and Clarke seems to be sobering up. A little.

Lexa looks over at her. "I don't think I'm going to stay for pizza, Clarke."

Clarke looks up at her, surprised. “Oh. Well okay.” She frowns. “Um, how are you getting home?”

“My sister. I texted her the address you gave me.”

“Oh.”

Clarke sighs and looks back down at her phone. “Well, I'll just get what I like then. And chicken wings. Ooh! Breadsticks...” Her voice trails off and her fingers are swiping furiously, adding multiple items to her cart. She places the order and tucks her phone into her pocket. She turns her head and leans it against the headrest, allow her gaze to fall on Lexa. She takes in the light brown waves that are pulled back from her face, the high cheekbone, the tight jaw. Mascara-laden lashes blink and turn in her direction, then back to the road again.

“You’re staring.” Lexa’s shifts somewhat uncomfortably. Clarke waves a hand but doesn’t turn.

“It's okay.”

Lexa’s eyebrows shoot up but she says nothing.

“Why are you here, Lexa? As in, why Arcadia, why now?”

_**Turn left onto 142 nd street. Then, turn right.** _

Lexa flips the blinker on and pulls into a turn lane. “Well, I guess Aden and I needed a fresh start. Things were complicated back in D.C. and we needed to… un-complicate them.”

“That’s where you were before? Washington D.C.?”

Lexa nods once.

“Why were things complicated?” Clarke’s voice is quiet.

Lexa doesn’t answer for a long moment. The sound of the GPS is loud between them.

_**Continue for two miles, then your destination is on the right.** _

“My wife left us a couple years ago. Aden took it hard… so did I.” She swallows but continues. “We had to pick up a lot of pieces. Once things settled with the divorce and our lives, we were ready for a change of scenery. It’s been... a long road.”

_Gay. Oh. Gay._

She knew she'd picked up some vibes, but having it confirmed was something else.

_Get it together Griffin. She just told you something personal._

Lexa adjusts her grip on the steering wheel. Clarke notes her discomfort and decides not to prod her further.

“What about you, Clarke? Why Arcadia?”

Clarke turns her head and stares back out at the road. “I’ve been friends with Arcadia’s art teacher, Lincoln, for a long time.” She giggles. “We actually met through mutual friends who set us up on a blind date. It was awful. I mean, awkward as hell, seriously. But we bonded over art and have been friends ever since. He’s really nice, I bet you’d like him...” She trails off and absently begins to walk her fingers along the window.

“So…” Lexa prompts, after a moment. “You came to Arcadia because of your friendship with Lincoln…?”

“Oh! Right! Yes. He and I have been to develop the arts exchange program for a couple years. It’s taken a lot of work to get it approved and figure out all of the logistics. We're excited. You need fresh perspectives, you know?”

Lexa nods.

 _ **Your destination is on the right.**_  

They pull up to a very tall glass building. Lexa pulls in and Clarke starts digging in her purse for a keycard, which she hands over.

“Just pull around here to the parking garage, this will get us in. I’m on the second level by the elevator, space 1613.”

Lexa does as she’s directed and they wait while the garage door slides up. “So what’s after Arcadia? Do you have some other schools lined up?”

They pull into the garage and Lexa follows the arrows to the second level.

“Yep. All of the high schools in the district have agreed to participate. Lincoln and I have the trial run, but as long as it works out, we’ll be switching out teachers with all of the high schools this winter. Lincoln and I will be returning to our schools in January and we’ll swap out with other teachers again next fall.”

Lexa maneuvers the car into space 1613 and turns off the engine. “Hmm. It is unfortunate that we will not be able to keep you here longer. The… students really seem to have taken to you.”

They get out of the car and Lexa locks it. She follows Clarke to the elevator, putting a hand on her arm to stabilize her. “Well, I’m sure they’ll be glad to have Lincoln back. But I will miss the students, too.”

They wait in silence for the elevator and Clarke notes that Lexa’s hand is still on her arm. She leans experimentally to the side and the hand tightens its grip. She looks down at the floor and smiles.

The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Lexa leads them in and positions herself near the buttons. “Floor?”

“Sixteen, please!” Clarke giggles and stumbles again (this time for real) and Lexa once again catches her and stands her up straight. She leans forward to press the button and stands back with Clarke.

“When is your sister coming?”

Lexa pulls her phone out of her pocket and glances at the screen. “I'm unsure, actually. She has yet to respond.”

“Oh good! Maybe you can have some pizza with me! I hope you like sausage." Suddenly her eyes go wide. "Ooohhhh I am SO hungry! I don't think I ate anything at Bellamy's! I hope they get here soon.”

Lexa just smiles as they exit the elevator and make their way down the hall. She marvels at how one moment Clarke seems sober, then completely inebriated the next.

Clarke’s apartment is the corner unit at the end of the hall. She babbles about pizza until they make it to the front door. Lexa has the keys in hand but Clarke points to the keypad on the door. She enters a code (and then enters it again with a giggle when she gets it wrong the first time) and pushes the door open.

“Come on in. Um, also, sorry. I’m a bit of a mess.” She shakes her head. “I mean... my apartment is a bit of a mess.”

Lexa walks in behind her and her eyes roam the room, taking in the vaulted ceilings, the floor to ceiling windows, the chef’s kitchen and open floorpan. It's small, but the openness of the common rooms and the height of the ceiling make it feel expansive.

“Wow, that view.” She walks to the far wall in the living room, which is all glass, and takes in the view of the city. The sun has gone down and the lights sparkle for miles in all directions.

“This is incredible, Clarke.”

Clarke throws her things on the kitchen island and follows her to the living room, plopping down onto the couch. She sits up and pulls a hanger out from under her. She glances at Lexa, who still has her back to her, then back at the hanger. Quietly she tucks it in between the couch cushions. The top of it is still sticking out a little and she’s struggling with it when Lexa turns around and starts walking toward her.

“Oh, yeah. I love the view.” She says, distracted. She adjusts her position and crosses her legs so that they hide the top of the hanger, then looks up at Lexa and smiles.

“May I?” Lexa gestures to the couch.

“Oh, of course! Please. And sorry for the mess. I was in a hurry this morning.”

Lexa sits lightly on the couch. She quirks an eyebrow and a small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth.

“I mean, I’m always in a hurry. Or not, but usually I don’t pick things up. I mean, I mean to, but, I don’t always and…” She stops and sighs. “I guess I just mean it’s always messy. I’m a terrible housekeeper.” She lets out a breath and leans back on the couch.

Lexa grins and shifts herself in Clarke’s direction, pulling a knee up sideways onto the couch. If she's babbling this much, she must be sobering up.

“So how did you come across this place? I bet it was hard to get in."

“Oh, I don’t know. I guess I got lucky. I really liked the view. It’s a tiny place but I’m just one person, you know? And the ceilings make it feel huge and I love painting in the corner.” She gestures to the point where the windows meet. An easel is set up on top of a large drop cloth overlooking the city. There are canvases stacked everywhere around it – some blank, some complete.

“Hey! I know!” Clarke perks up. “You should have a drink!”

She hops off the couch before Lexa can respond and heads to the kitchen. “I have this amazing stuff that my uncle brought me. You have to try it! It’s called Bendectin or Benedin or… something with a 'B'. Hang on.”

Clarke bends down and disappears below the island, popping back up with a brown bottle. She pulls a couple of clean glasses out of the cupboard and pours, sloshing a little on the counter. “Oops!”

The pours are generous and Clarke doesn’t seem to notice. She walks back to the living room and places a glass in Lexa’s hand, then takes her seat again.

Lexa smiles politely and takes a small sip, fully intending to stop there. However - “Oh! This is nice!” she murmurs. She takes another sip.

The doorbell rings and Clarke hops up to answer it. Lexa checks her phone – still nothing from Anya. She frowns and sets her drink on a cluttered coffee table. She sends her another message.

 **9:09 PM:** If you’re not going to come, please let me know soon so I can call an Uber. Ass.

She tucks the phone back in her pocket and picks up her drink again. It’s dangerously good. She takes another sip as Clarke leads a pizza delivery girl into her kitchen.

“Just put it all here in the kitchen. I’ll get some money, hang on.”

Lexa gets up and walks around the couch to join them in the kitchen. Clarke is digging through her wallet. “Shoot! I don’t think I have any actual cash on me. Can I add a tip through the app?” She turns to the girl, who shakes her head.

“Oh, no, they haven’t added that feature yet. But it’s okay…”

Lexa sets her drink on the counter and pulls out her wallet. She tugs out a bill and places it in the girl’s hand.

“Thank you. Have a good night.” She leads her to the door and closes it softly behind her. She turns to Clarke, who looks flustered.

“I’m sorry, that’s so embarrassing.”

Lexa just smiles and walks over to the enormous pile of pizza boxes. “This smells good. I think you ordered enough for twelve people, Clarke.”

“Oh my goodness though, I’m so hungry! Let’s bring it into the living room.”

Clarke starts gathering boxes while Lexa goes back into the living room to make room on the coffee table.

They settle down to eat and Lexa finishes the rest of her drink. She’s definitely not getting tipsy. Definitely not.

 

\--------------------

 

Aden checks the time on his phone again. 10:07. His mother is always careful to stay in touch. Should he be concerned? He decides to reach out before he heads to bed.

 **10:08 PM:** Hey, everything going alright?

 **10:10 PM:** Aden! Yes, all is well. I’m still out. I don’t know when I’m going to be home. You ok?

 **10:10 PM:** Yep. Just wanted to check in

 **10:11 PM:** Your a good kid

 **10:11 PM:** Did you SERIOUSLY just misuse “your"?

 **10:12 PM:** Shhh don’t tell anyone. Love you kiddo

 _What on earth??_ Aden frowns and puts his phone on the charger as he crawls into bed. His mom is so weird sometimes.

 

\----------------------

 

Anya’s phone chimes again next to her bed.

"Just a sec" she breathes to the woman wrapped around her. She grabs it and rolls her eyes at the 12 messages Lexa has sent her. She types a quick 'Be right there,' then puts down her phone and turns back to the woman in her arms. She doesn't think about her phone again for the rest of the night.

 

\----------------------

 

“Clarke. Clarke.” Lexa wobbles a little as she gestures with her hands. They are both sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, their backs to the couch.

“I don’t think you should give me anymore. This stuff is stronger than it looks.” Clarke shoves the glass across the table and Lexa picks it up anyway. “You are giving me very bad judgement. Wait. No I meant something else. I am… I am showing very poor judgement.”

Clarke giggles.

“I shouldn’t be drinking, Clarke. Probably. I mean I’m a lightweight and I don’t even know how high the alcohol content is in this stuff. I can’t drink anymore.” She complains as she brings the glass back to her lips.

Clarke picks up the bottle and reads the print. “It says the alcohol volume is forty percent. Is that a lot?”

Lexa spits out the drink she just took, spraying the cold pizza, Clarke’s arm and part of the table.

“Clarke! Oh my god! Forty percent?”

Clarke shakes her arm. “Hey! You just spewed all over me!”

Lexa’s hand flies to her mouth. They stare at each other for a moment before the both dissolve into giggles. Lexa tries to halfheartedly wipe off her arm with the sleeve of her blazer but just falls over and keeps giggling.

She sits up and points a finger at Clarke. “Hey. At least I didn’t spill paint all over your BRAND NEW SUIT!”

“Oh no! Don’t remind me about that!! I feel so terrible.” Clarke covers her face with her hands.

“You’re lucky the dry cleaner was able to salvage it or I would have been so… so…. I don’t know. But I would have.”

“Well, at least you look good in yellow.” Clarke scrunches her face and eyes her warily.

Lexa frowns. “I do not. Particularly pastel. Ew.” She pauses, taking in Clarke’s pastel yellow shirt. “It’s good on you though. Amazing, actually.” Without thinking, she reaches out a hand to trace the neckline of Clarke’s shirt. When Clarke’s breath catches in her throat, Lexa pauses, not having realized what she was doing. Awareness creeps in and suddenly all coherent thought leaves her mind.

She slowly draws her gaze up Clarke’s neck to her slightly open mouth, then finally finds blue eyes and locks onto them. Clarke’s breath is shallow. Lexa isn't breathing at all.

Lexa's hand slowly drops and gravity pulls her toward the other woman. Clarke's eyes are darting back and forth from her lips to her eyes and she shouldn't be doing this but when Clarke sways in her direction, Lexa's hand wraps around the back of her neck and she  _pulls_ her forward. Her eyes close as their mouths meet and it's  _heaven_ and she can't breathe because she suddenly realizes how much she's wanted this sweet, sassy, beautiful woman in her arms.

And she shouldn't be wanting her. There are so many reasons this can't be happening.

And her stomach feels sick.

Her guilt must be manifesting because Clarke picks up on her distance and pulls back. She removes her hands from Lexa's body and places them on either side of her, pulling her face back far enough to take in the other woman's expression.

"Lexa. Um... are you okay?"

Lexa looks up into her warm blue eyes. Breathing heavily, she nods. "Yes. I just... maybe we could put the brakes on for a minute, hmm?" She feels the liquor swimming in her head and the nausea hits her. "I think I need to, um, the alcohol is..."

"Oh no!" Clarke jumps up and helps Lexa to her feet. She follows Lexa into the bathroom and just manages to grab her hair as she leans over the toilet and violently retches. 

 

\----------------------------

 

Octavia groans when the alarm clock sounds at six AM. She shuts it off and, uncharacteristically, rolls over to go back to sleep. After ten minutes of tossing and turning, she gives in and sits up, rubbing her eyes. They’re crusty and she pulls her fingers away to see mascara all over them. She looks back at her pillow and there are trails of mascara where it puddled from her tears last night. Anger washes over her and she grabs it and rips the pillowcase off. She strips the entire bed and throws everything in the washing machine.

She throws herself into cleaning and by ten AM her house is cleaner than it’s ever been. Even her windows are sparkling and her clothes are put away. She showers and dresses and ignores her phone whenever it chimes. It chimes a lot.

At noon, she’s drinking coffee on her patio and reading a fitness magazine when the sliding door opens behind her. She doesn’t turn around.

Raven walks slowly toward her and drops into the other chair.

Octavia continues reading.

Raven clears her throat. Nothing.

“O?”

Octavia lays the magazine on the table and picks up her coffee cup. She turns her head toward Raven but doesn’t make eye contact.

Raven’s voice is cautious, gentle. “Hey. What’s wrong? The last time you cleaned like this was the morning of Atom’s funeral…”

She trails off, waiting for Octavia to jump in.

Octavia’s eyes cast about for a moment and settle somewhere over Raven’s shoulder.

“What are you doing, Raven?”

Raven frowns. “Me? What do you mean?”

“You tell me that you and Finn broke up. Fine. That was long overdue. But then you just… jump into bed with some rando… ugh.” She shakes her head and looks away. Her eyes are watery and she blinks several times, willing herself to stay composed.

“Octavia. What on earth? Why are you so upset? It was nothing. I…” she pauses, searching for the right words. “I just wanted to get him out of my head I… I didn’t plan on Anya, she just… I don’t know.”

She shakes her head and leans forward in her chair. “But I don’t understand why you’re so upset. Is it because she’s Lexa’s sister? Or because it was a woman? I didn’t think you’d care-”

Octavia sucks in a sharp breath and Raven winces. “Are you _serious?!_ ” She explodes. “I-“ She cuts herself off, however, and forces a steady breath.

Raven sits back, clearly unsure how to navigate. “Uh, okay. Let’s start over… you’re angry at me and I’m confused. Can you bring me to the page you’re on so I know what’s wrong?”

Instead of answering, Octavia stands and walks toward the sliding glass door. She sees a suitcase inside.

_Oh god._

She takes a deep, calming breath and turns back to Raven.

“Look, I don't know. It just hurt. And I don’t know why. But it did. I can’t… I don’t know what to say, Raven.” She meets her eyes for the first time and sees the confusion and concern in them. “I… I care about you and… I just… I don’t want you to… I don’t know.”

Raven gets up and walks toward Octavia, wrapping her arms around her. She says nothing and she doesn’t let go. Eventually Octavia wraps her arms around her too and when they finally part, maybe she wipes her eyes, just a little.

Neither of them are emotionally equipped to continue with this vulnerability.

“It looks like you were serious about staying with me, then?” Octavia says, taking a deep breath and gesturing to the suitcase.

“Uh yeah, if the offer’s still open…?”

“Of course it is, don’t be stupid. I’ll clear out some room in my closet.” They head inside and Octavia drags Raven’s suitcase into her room, flopping it down on the bed. She empties a couple of draws in her dresser and slides some hangers over in her closet, then starts unpacking Raven’s suitcase and putting her things away.

Raven sits down on the bed, watching her.

“We’ve been friends for a long time, O.”

Octavia glances at her but doesn’t respond as she carries several items over to the dresser.

“You’re my person. I mean, there’s nobody else in the world that I’m as close to as you. I’m closer to you than I ever was with Finn, even.”

Octavia huffs. “What’s your point, Ray?”

Raven pauses, clearly choosing her words carefully.

“I love you, O. And I want you to know that you can tell me anything. Um… Like, _anything_. Or whatever. So…” she trails off and stares at the wall past Octavia, swinging her leg against the bed.

_What is this?_

Octavia halts and stares at her.

“Um, thanks.” She doesn’t say anything else, but Raven brings her eyes to Octavia’s and they hold eye contact, the silence stretching between them.

 

\-------------------

 

Lexa groans at the sunlight in her eyes and throws an arm in front of her face. She rolls over and faces the back of the couch. Clarke is sitting in the chair across from her, a cup of coffee in her hands and a book at her side. She’s been up for several hours and having already dressed, cleaned up their mess from last night (and cleaned up more of her apartment in general), is enjoying the quiet as she waits for Lexa to join her in the land of the living. She smoothes a hand down her knee-length flowery skirt and adjusts the white V-neck blouse. 

The bottle of alcohol had at been at least a quarter full before Lexa had started drinking and she’d found it empty on the floor where she’d discarded it at some point last night. Clarke wonders if the ibuprofen and glass of water she'd forced Lexa to drink had helped any.

Lexa’s arms stretch above her head and she goes to roll over. Clearly she has forgotten where she is as she rolls too far and, wrapped in blankets, goes tumbling to the floor between the couch and the coffee table.

“What the hell?!” a groggy voice exclaims.

Clarke snickers but makes no move to help her.

“Good Morning, Sunshine. Sleep well?”

Lexa turns her head so fast that she hits it on the table. “Motherf-“ she stops. “Clarke?” She wrestles with the blanket where it’s wrapped around her arms and finally breaks free, pulling her hand a little too hard and smacking herself in the face. “Agh, ow.” She groans. She finally pulls herself up onto the couch and stares at Clarke, blinking heavily.

Clarke grins broadly. “You need coffee.”

“Yes.”

“How do you take it?”

“However – as long as it’s hot.” She rubs her eyes and then runs her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten it. Clarke heads into the kitchen and fills a mug, mixing in a little cream and sugar. She grabs some ibuprofen on her way back into the living room and gives both to Lexa.

“Some night, hmm?” She says quietly. “I can’t remember the last time I hosted a sleepover.” Lexa’s eyebrows shoot up and Clarke’s face turns red at the implication in her words.

“I didn’t mean, um, I just… ahhh I don’t know.” She chuckles and rubs at her face with her hands. She looks up and locks eyes with Lexa, who is smiling softly. “Why can’t I seem to string a sentence together around you?”

Lexa’s eyes widen slightly, then a serious expression settles over her features and she puts her coffee down. “Well… maybe for the same reason that I can’t seem to focus on anyone else when you’re around.” Clarke breathes in heavily and closes her eyes. And for a moment, she is back in Lexa's arms, kissing her on her living room floor.

She opens her eyes. 

_Are we talking about this?_

She tries for humor. “Well, maybe it’d be easier if you weren’t living in fear of me spilling paint on your clothes. You must be traumatized.”

Lexa’s squints at her and she grabs her coffee, leaning back as she takes a long drink.

“Traumatized.” She repeats. She gives Clarke a long look. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Lexa…” Clarke falters. Lexa continues to stare at her and the silence stretches between them until Lexa puts her empty coffee cup down and stands up. 

_Shit, Griffin. Why do you always say the wrong thing?_

“I should probably call a car and get home. Have you seen my cell phone?” She looks around, apparently noticing for the first time that everything seems cleaner. “And um, what time is it?”

Clarke gathers up both of their cups and stands. “About noon.”

“What!? Are you serious?” Lexa frantically looks around for her phone. Clarke brings their cups into the kitchen and pulls Lexa’s phone off the charger she’d placed it on a little while ago.

“Here.” She hands it to Lexa, who scrolls through what appear to be several messages.

“Aden…” Lexa whispers. She taps the call button and puts the phone to her ear, walking toward the windows that overlook the city. Clarke busies herself with dishes and tries not to listen, but Lexa’s quiet voice carries in the small space.

“Aden. Where are you?”

Pause.

“No, I stayed at a friend’s last night. I’m sorry I didn’t communicate that with you. I’m on my way home.”

Pause.

“Oh, I forgot about that. What time are they-“

Pause.

“Oh, okay. Well, good. I’ll have my phone on me. Let me know if you need anything. Love you.”

She hangs up and dials again. Her voice is quieter, but Clarke can hear the sharper tone.

“What the hell happened last night?” she grits out.

Pause.

“What the– Anya. What is wrong with you? You can’t just hook up with my-“

Pause.

“No. No. You know what? Let’s talk about this later. I’ll call you tonight.”

Lexa whirls around and marches toward the couch. She starts folding her blanket.

“Is everything okay?” Clarke comes around from the kitchen and takes the other end. Lexa looks up and gives Clarke a small smile as they flip the blanket into smaller and smaller folds. “Sorry, my sister drives me crazy. We… argue a lot, but we’re close.” Clarke nods as they bring the last folds together and their hands meet. They stare at each other for a moment, then Lexa surrenders the blanket into Clarke’s hands and glances around for her blazer. She finds it on a hook by the door and slides it on.

“I’d better get going.” But the urgency has left her voice.

Clarke grabs her purse and keys. “I’ll take you. Let’s go.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to take up your Saturday.”

“Oh please. I’m happy to do it. Let’s go.”

Once they're in the car and pulling out onto the road, Clarke points to the GPS in her console.

“Can you put your address in for me?”

Lexa complies and soon they're on their way. Clarke feels her stomach grumble. It’s loud and Lexa snickers. “Someone’s hungry.”

“Someone rushed me out the door before I could offer breakfast.”

“Sorry. I guess I didn’t have to do that. I had forgotten that Aden has plans today anyway.”

Clarke smiles. “It’s okay. I can grab something on my way home.”

“Or I…”

Clarke glances at Lexa, who looks like she’s surprised herself with whatever she was going to say.

_Hmm._

“Do you have a better breakfast offer?”

Lexa turns to her and purses her lips. “I make pretty killer pancakes, if you’re interested.”

A smile spreads across Clarke’s face.

“I like pancakes.”

 

\--------------------------

 

Lexa turns on the lights in the entry of her brick house and ushers Clarke inside.

“Please, make yourself at home. I just need to grab a quick shower and I’ll be down.” She leads Clarke into the kitchen/dining area, then heads down a hallway to her room. Clarke puts her things down on the kitchen table and looks around. The house is tastefully decorated and nearly spotless. The home is filled with cool colors; hues of gray, blue, black and white are woven into all of the decor. The furniture is all mahogany and all of it matches. Clarke groans, imagining what Lexa must have thought of her messy, messy house. 

She wanders into the living room and switches on the light, illuminating several family portraits along a wall. Trophies and awards are interspersed among the photos and Clarke is drawn to them. She takes in photos of Lexa and Aden at various stages and ages. She chuckles at an older picture of Lexa with a tight perm. She runs her fingers down the youthful face, thinking of the fine lines that have begun to crease the beautiful face of the older woman that she knows. She smiles at all of the trophies and runs her fingers along everything, finally stopping at a photo at the end of the wall. It's clearly a candid shot. Lexa is holding a young, grinning Aden upside down on a beach blanket, and a beautiful woman with warm brown skin and shiny black hair is tickling his belly. Her back is mostly to the camera but Clarke can still see that she's beautiful. She looks at Lexa's laughing eyes and can't help but wonder how something so beautiful and happy could be torn apart.

She clears her throat and turns to a wall with DVDs. She leans down to browse the titles and quickly realizes that they're all old. Like really old. There are silent films and some old foreign ones she's never heard of. Likely subtitled. Yikes. Then there are classic movies, like My Fair Lady, Casablanca and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. She's on her knees with her head tilted to the side, looking through the titles when Lexa walks in.

"You've found my guilty pleasure."

"Lexa! I can't believe how many you have!" Clarke stands and turns toward Lexa. Her next words die in her throat. Barefoot Lexa with no makeup, in a plain white tee and jeans? Wet hair cascading down her shoulders? That might just be the sexiest thing Clarke Griffin has ever seen. Her mouth hangs slightly open and she stares.

For her part, Lexa doesn't seem to notice the effect she's having. She has a towel in her hand that she's drying her hair with as she walks toward Clarke. Her bare feet gently slap the hardwood floors as she approaches. And her smell - Clarke blinks and takes in a deep breath. That, unfortunately, Lexa does notice. Those damn eyebrows shoot up, yet again, as a grin stretches across her face. Clarke feels a blush crawling up her neck and she closes her eyes in embarrassment. 

"Smell something you like?" Clarke can hear the smirk in Lexa's voice and she groans.

"You are a terrible person, Lexa Woods." She looks up into laughing eyes.

"It's coconut. I wasn't sure if I was sold on it but if you like it this much..." She trails off, drawing closer and tossing her towel onto a chair.

Hesitantly, Clarke hooks a finger through each of the belt loops at Lexa's hips and pulls her closer. She looks up into green eyes that instantly soften.

"What if I  _do_ like it that much?"

"Then maybe I'll keep using it." Her voice is soft.

Clarke leans in and nuzzles Lexa's neck, inhaling deeply. She feels Lexa shudder slightly beneath her. "I think you should do that."

Clarke's nose brushes Lexa's neck, followed by her lips. She reaches up a hand to pull her hair back and runs her lips along Lexa's neck, not kissing, just feeling. Lexa's skin is still moist and when she gets to the space behind her ear, Clarke's bottom lip catches and her lips part against Lexa's skin. She flicks her tongue ever so slightly and a strangled, gurgly sound escapes Lexa's throat. Clarke plants a small kiss there and pulls back, once again looking Lexa in the eyes. Lexa blinks a few times and Clarke takes in her blown pupils. She's also suddenly aware that, without her knowledge or permission, her left hand had crawled up Lexa's shirt and is grazing the side of her breast. 

_Shit. No bra._

Clarke squirms slightly and pulls her hand out of Lexa's shirt, once again feeling embarrassed at how her body seems to have a mind of it's own when it comes to this woman. She takes in a deep breath and puts her hands, so that they are  _somewhere_ other than Lexa, behind her back.  "I have a confession to make, Lexa."

Eyebrows shoot up again. Damn eyebrows. Beautiful, expressive eyebrows.

_Focus, Griffin._

"You are.. um, I find you to be, uh, you're very attractive and... I have a hard time... keeping myself together. when you're around. I guess... You make me feel a little... undone." She looks away, feeling oddly vulnerable. Well, not oddly. She just confessed her attraction to her boss. Well, a boss that she already made out with, but this is different. Kinda. This is actually  _acknowledging_ all the feelings she's been dancing around. This is definitely scarier than kissing.

Lexa looks down at her and gently takes her face in her hands. She guides Clarke's eyes to her own and Clarke finds the tenderness there. "I share your feelings, Clarke. When I first saw you..." She pauses, then smirks. "...through the paint I had to wipe out of my eyes," Clarke gently slaps her arm and Lexa grins, then turns serious.

"But seriously, Clarke." She locks eyes with her again and pulls her face in, pressing a gentle kiss to Clarke's lips. Clarke's eyes close and she breathes her in, seeking to deepen the kiss, but Lexa pulls back. "It's probably not... the smartest thing for us to pursue, but something about you makes me want to throw caution to the wind." She leans her forehead against Clarke's and they stand together in silence for a moment, arms wrapped around each other. 

A loud grumbling noise from Clarke's stomach breaks them apart and with a laugh, she looks pointedly at the kitchen. "I thought you promised me some killer pancakes."

Lexa grins. "Hmm, yes I did. Maybe..." She pauses. Then: "Maybe if you have nothing to do after, I could talk you into watching an old movie with me?"

"That sounds wonderful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we'll have to take a look at Raven and Octavia in the next chap. Also, somehow Jaha didn't make it into this one. Darn.
> 
> Anyway I had the whole thing mapped and then I scrapped it and went for fun instead. I hope you all like it!


	6. Bakon Vodka

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past decides to make a come-back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been almost two years since I've updated this. I had fully convinced myself that I was going to abandon it. But wouldn't you know it, inspiration strikes at the weirdest times.
> 
> I had a hard time continuing this back then for two reasons:  
> 1\. School started and took ALL of my time  
> 2\. The level of editing needed in chaps 1 - 5 was cringeworthy
> 
> Well, I'm on a break from school until April and after re-reading it start to finish, I realized that this story needed to be finished. So: I've reworked the previous chapters. Some extensively, some just with phrasing and verbiage. Now I'm adding chapter six. It doesn't solve any of the plot lines but it adds a little background.
> 
> And a warning style - my writing style and values have probably changed a bit in the last couple years. So, no promises on where this goes. But here we are :)

\--------

Thelonious straightens his tie and smooths down the short sleeves of his collared shirt. He turns away from the mirror and walks to the kitchen, where he pours himself a cup of coffee. He sits down at his desk and takes a sip as he searches through the files spread out on his desk. He picks up the one marked “Griffin” and opens it. An 8x10 picture of Clarke holding an apple with smoke blowing out of her mouth sits on the top, and he grins to himself.

\--------

Clarke snuggles into Lexa’s shoulder as the credits begin to roll.

“Wow, that was such a good movie.” She murmurs. 

Lexa shifts her arm a little tighter around Clarke’s shoulders and rests her chin on top of her head.

“One of my favorites.”

“You still smell so good.”

Lexa’s chuckles. “So do you." 

The fall silent for a moment, just enjoying each other.

Finally, Clarke pulls back and turns to face Lexa.

“So, I hate to do this but, I should get going. This has been wonderful. Thank you for the pancakes.”

“Killer right?”

“I can honestly say I’ve never heard of putting mayonnaise in something weirder… but yes. KILLER.”

She gets to her feet and Lexa walks her to the door.

“Thank you for the ride home.”

“Thank _you_ for the ride home.”

Lexa reaches a hand up to Clarke’s cheek and leans in for a gentle kiss. Clarke feels her whole body wanting to melt into Lexa, and pulls back before she finds herself taking it farther.

Lexa opens the door for her and gives her a small wave. Clarke doesn’t know what to do with the butterflies that won’t calm down in her stomach.

\--------

**_Fifteen years ago_ **

_Octavia groans as she flops down onto an unsuspecting and definitely still-sleeping Lincoln._

_“Oof! Get off me.” He complains. He pulls the blankets over his head but Octavia ripps them back down. “I need to talk to you.”_

_“No, you need to talk AT me. Go ahead, I’ll be asleep.”_

_“Linc. She’s my fucking T.A.”_

_“Cool.”_

_“_ Not _cool. She’s a distraction.”_

_“So drop the class.”_

_“No. I can’t let her win.”_

_“She’s 20 and she’s working on her doctorate. I think she’s already won.”_

_“Who’s side are you even on?”_

_“Whoever doesn’t wake me up at 5 in the morning to complain about their crush.”_

_“I do_ not _have a crush on her. And it’s 5:30.”_

_She punches in the general direction of his arm._

_“Oof. Right.”_

_“I don’t. She’s awful. She’s rude and competitive and a know-it-all. Why would I have a crush on her?”_

_“Wait, are we talking about you or Raven now?”_

_“Fucker.”_

_Lincoln sits up and throws the covers off of his head. He’s shirtless and has a few days’ scruff on his face. She sighs and puts her head on his chest. “If only I liked boys. I’d have a crush on you for sure.”_

_“If only,” he sighs and runs his hands through her hair._

_“What am I going to do about Raven? I can’t seem to get away from her. She’s so… ugh.”_

_“Maybe you just need to make friends with her.”_

_Octavia scowls at him **verbally**. “Dumb.”_

_“I’m serious. The best way to get over someone is to get to know them. It worked for me with you.”_

_She punches his bicep. “Rude.”_

_\----------_

**_10 years ago_ **

_Octavia’s eyes follow Raven as she struts around the room, shamelessly bragging and relishing being the center of attention tonight. The large banner hanging over the back of the bar reads “Congratulations Raven!” and the crowd is filled with all of her friends._

_Octavia is proud as she brings her beer to her lips and takes a long pull. Raven has worked hard for this and nobody –_ nobody _– deserves it as much as she does. Lincoln appears next to her and takes the empty beer bottle from her hands, replacing it with a fresh one. “This would be a good night to tell her, O.”_

_“That’s a terrible idea. Look how happy she is.”_

_Lincoln chuckles. “You never know. She could be even happier.”_

_“Please,” she scoffs at him. “I can’t take away from all of this. Besides. She’s straight.”_

_“Sexuality is a spectrum.”_

_“We’re on opposite ends.”_

_“She loves you.”_

_“And I’m_ IN _love with her. There’s a difference.”_

_“There is,” he acknowledges. “I just want to see you happy.”_

_“Your advice was shit.”_

_He frowns at her. “Which advice is that?”_

_“Years ago. You said making her my friend and getting to know her would make me fall out of love with her. It just made it worse.”_

_“Yeah,” he mumbles._

_She rolls her eyes. “Well? Why would it work for you and not for-“_

_She stops herself, realizing the implication of what she’s saying. He smiles at her softly and she looks away._

_“Hey,” he says gently, taking her hand. She looks up to him._

_“We can’t always control the terms of a relationship – we can only be honest and choose whether or not we accept what is offered.”_

_He rubs the back of his neck and smiles at her. “You are an amazing person, Octavia, and I will always love and admire you. You don’t feel the way about me that I feel about you – you can’t – and I understand that. But why should I cut off a relationship because we don’t love each other in the same way? You don’t owe me romantic feelings because I feel them. I still want you in my life, and I chose to accept the terms that you offered.”_

_Octavia swallows. How did she not realize that he felt like this? Or did she and she just didn’t want to think about it?_

_“I’m sorry, Lincoln.”_

_“Don’t be, it's long-settled.”_

_“Does Luna know how you feel?”_

_“Of course. I would never hide that from her. She understands and knows it doesn’t take away from how I feel about her. The heart has a great capacity to love.”_

_“Well, shit.” She sits down on a nearby barstool and Lincoln smiles._

_“I probably should have been more clear about it, way back then. Especially if you’ve seriously been expecting your feelings for Raven to go away.” He smirks._

_She shakes her head. “Don’t be an ass.” Then “But maybe you’re right. If this isn’t going away, then I need to accept it and stop wondering. And yeah, it’s not like she owes me anything. But – why do you keep encouraging me to tell her how I feel, then?”_

_“Because if you don’t, you won’t know. Maybe her terms are more in alignment with yours than you think.”_

_“Or maybe she’ll be freaked out and it will make her uncomfortable and I'll lose her forever.”_

_“Maybe.”_

_“It’s… not worth the risk, Lincoln. I can’t lose her."_

_\----------_

_Raven finally makes her way over to the bar where Lincoln and Octavia are deep in conversation._

Whatever.

_She flings herself between them and wraps an arm around both. “Bitches! You’re supposed to be giving me attention! What are you talking about?”_

_Lincoln smiles and wraps an arm around her too. “How much we love you, of course.”_

_Raven grins. “OF COURSE you were.”_

_She turns to Octavia. “Buy me a drink?”_

_Octavia rolls her eyes. “YOU should be buying ME a drink with that NASA salary.” But she turns around and orders three shots of tequila._

_“Woah, hey now, we’re not in college anymore!” Raven protests, even as she picks up the shot glass and waits for them to do the same._

_“I need some lime and salt with this,” Lincoln complains. He flags down the bartender._

_“Wuss!” Raven hollers, handing Octavia a shot glass. They clink them together and down them immediately, eyes locked, both daring the other to make a face._

_“So good,” Octavia challenges._

_“Super.” Raven stares back._

_It’s a thing with them. They try to tone down their competitiveness with each other, but ever since Raven called Octavia out for choking down a shot of liquor the night they met, this was the one exception. They tried constantly to get each other to crack for the lack of chaser, with progressively worse alcohol, until it was a regular thing that they would bring the cheapest, shittiest alcohol to challenge each other whenever they got together._

_Lincoln gets his lime and does his shot, shamelessly making a face, then gets to his feet. “Gonna go find Luna. See you two in a bit.”_

_Raven waves at him then looks back to Octavia with a mischievous look on her face._

_Octavia raises a single brow. “I hate that face.”_

_“You LOVE my face.”_

_“Not_ that _one. That’s your trouble face.”_

_Raven grins wide as she reaches into her shirt and pulls a small bottle out of her bra._

_“Ew,” Octavia grimaces. “What is that?”_

_Raven proudly displays the label. ‘Bakon’ Vodka._

_“I am not drinking your nasty boob-bacon vodka, R- Hey!” She hollers as Raven waives it in front of her face. “Get that away from me!” She ducks back and Raven sets it down, laughing._

_“Drink up, bitch.”_

_“No chance.”_

_“You have to, it’s my party.”_

_“You’re an asshole, Raven.”_

_Warmth spreads across Raven’s chest as Octavia caves, making a show of picking up the bottle with only two fingers. She unscrews the cap and goes to pour it into her leftover shotglass when Raven shoots out a hand to cover hers, stopping her from pouring. Octavia looks up._

_“No, you have to drink it from the bottle.”_

_Octavia eyes the narrow opening. It’ll take forever and burn like a motherfucker._

_“That’s cheating-“_

_“Come on, chickenshit. Don’t think you can do it?”_

_Octavia’s jaw snaps shut and the glint of challenge shines in her eyes._ _Raven feels positively FLUSH with excitement, knowing she’s going to win this time._

_She’s not wrong. But she misunderstands the reason why._

_With a glare, Octavia puts the tiny bottle to her lips and begins to pour. On an impulse, Raven reaches out to run two fingers down Octavia’s throat, with every intention of tipping the odds._

_The other girl’s body jerks violently and she chokes on the vodka. The bottle falls from her hand and vodka flies out of her mouth, spraying Raven in the face._

_“Hey! Gross!!”_

_Raven wipes her eyes and looks up to find Octavia coughing violently over the bar. She reaches a hand around and pats her back._

_“You okay?”_

_The middle finger that is thrust into her face is all the answer she needs and she starts laughing again when Octavia finally catches her breath._

_“I win,” she gloats._

_“Yeah,” Octavia says quietly as she finally catches her breath and looks up at Raven. “Good job.”_

_Her hand goes up to her throat and she looks away._

_“What?” Raven taunts. “You’re not even going to yell at me for cheating?”_

_“You’re a fucking cheater.” Octavia says dismissively. She gestures to the bartender for some water._

_Raven is slightly inebriated, but she picks up the odd vibe coming off of Octavia._

Hmm.

 _“Well, anyway, we’ll celebrate my win tomorrow.” She looks around the bar and grins as a long-haired guy comes toward them. “Look, it’s my new boyfriend!”_

_Octavia smiles blandly._

_“Go, have fun. You have a party to enjoy.”_

_Raven leans forward and kisses Octavia on the cheek, then hops out of her stool and runs exuberantly toward Finn. He picks her up and twirls her and Raven doesn’t see Octavia turn away. She is still otherwise occupied when Octavia closes out her tab, picks up her jacket and makes her way out the back door._

_\-------_

**Today**

Lexa is just about to text Clarke about the jacket she forgot when the doorbell rings. She smiles and grabs it on her way to the door.

“I was just about to text you!” She says as she opens the door with a big smile, jacket it hand.

It’s not Clarke.

“Hi, Lexa.” Costia gives her a little wave and a tentative smile. Aden steps out from behind her.

\-------

“Where are your _fucking_ clothes, Raven?”

“Dunno, I was hot.” She murmurs, burying her head in Octavia’s shoulder and trying to go back to sleep.

Octavia rolls her off and Raven turns her naked ass away and latches onto a pillow.

“Seriously, Raven?” She gets no reply, so she flings the blankets over her body and gets out of bed. She checks her phone – 4:30. Might as well get up.

“You can’t just drop into my bed with no clothes on.” She scolds.

“You’ve seen me naked before.”

“You have your own bed.”

“Couch,” Raven corrects into the pillow. “It’s hard.”

“It’s free.” Octavia grabs some jogging pants and a pair of socks out of her drawer. She changes quickly and laces up her shoes.

“Get it together, Reyes.”

“Nah.”

\-------

Lexa has been staring at the ceiling for hours. She sighs and checks the time. Fuck. Might as well get up.

She grabs her gym bag, leaves a note on the counter and grabs her keys on the way out the door. The drive to the school is much quicker at this early hour, and it is still full dark when she gets out of the car. 

She makes her way to the track and has run a full mile before she notices the other figure doing warmups on the sidelines. She’s pretty sure she recognizes Octavia and gives her a small wave. She gets one back and the other woman takes off, easily passing her with practiced ease.

They spend the next hour doing laps in silence, and at some point they fall into sync with each other. When they pull up to the starting point and Lexa sits down to do some stretches, Octavia joins her.

“Didn’t peg you for a runner, Ms. Woods.”

“Lexa. And I’m not. Or, rather, it’s been years. I’ve been getting my exercise with an elliptical and some weights for the last few years. This feels good though.”

“Doesn’t it? I hate being stuck inside. I feel like a rat on a wheel. Nothing like the wind blowing in your face and the feeling that you’re actually going somewhere.”

Lexa smiles. “Yeah, it’s good. Takes your mind off things.” She groans into a stretch and tilts her head to the side.

“Tell me about it.” Octavia murmurs.

“Do you normally come to the track on Sundays?” Lexa asks.

“No. Just couldn’t sleep. You?”

“Same.”

There’s silence for a moment until Octavia clears her throat.

“So, Bellamy’s barbecue…”

Lexa let’s out a breath and drops her face into her hands.

“Shit. I completely forgot about that.”

“You must have a lot on your mind then,” Octavia muses as she gets to her feet. Then, “I don’t know if you plan to address it with everyone, but I hope you’ll consider that there was, just, a lot going on that night. It wasn’t a normal thing and we don’t normally… behave… like that. Especially during the school year. We really do take our jobs seriously.” 

Lexa hops up from her seated position and eyes Octavia warily. “Well, I wouldn’t have even gone if I’d known who's party it was. My sister’s friend, Murphy, invited her and she made me come and, ugh. Anyway, I shouldn’t have been there. I should have left the second I saw Raven’s jeep in the parking lot.”

“Me too,” Octavia chuckles.

Lexa lifts a brow but doesn’t ask her to explain as they head inside to the showers. Monday is going to be interesting.

\---------

Clarke digs in her purse for her keys as she approaches her car and her hand clasps around an unfamiliar pen. She pulls it out and frowns, trying to remember where it came from. Huh.

Before she can connect the memory, she recalls that she'd placed her car keys in her pocket "Ugh, I'm going to be so late!" she scolds herself.

She fishes the keys out and opens her door. Once inside, she tosses both the purse and the pen into her passenger seat. She doesn’t notice the pen roll under the passenger seat and lodge in the edge of the carpet.

\---------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few years since I was in high school and I know LITERALLY nothing about school administration (except for what I google), so if I'm totally mischaracterizing what it would be like to run a school or to be in school, well. Sorry.


End file.
